John Updike wrote many books in his lifetime (according to Goodreads, he published 22 novels during his lifetime). I had not read any of them before this collection of short stories. The stories cover many different subjects but the human story and experience is at the center of each. Some of the stories I was able to connect with and some I was not able to.

One of my favorite stories in the book was about 9/11. Updike looks at the event from someone watching the World Trade Center falling from Brooklyn, someone who is a terrorist, someone who was in the building when it fell and someone who was on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. It was interesting to see all these different perspectives in one short story, along with my own emotions. I think you would be hard pressed to find an American who did not feel that they were affected by the events on that day. Being in the DC area at the time, I know that I was definitely affected by the events.

It takes a lot for me to get into short stories. They just aren't my favorite and I really have a difficult time putting my finger on what exactly it is about short stories that I don't like. I think it's because I don't feel like I really get to know the character well. I probably would not have picked up this book had it not been for my book club.

I would give this book 2.5 stars out of 5.