Christina's review
The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
I bought the book (hardcover) at a church rummage sale last year for 50 cents.
I read it in June 2007 and spent several weeks trying to figure out what in the world John Updike was saying.
I found a really interesting Salon interview, in which Updike said, "...I was enough aware of feminist criticisms that my novels always had these same male, sexist, lusty heroes that I did try to write a book involving women as heroes, The Witches of Eastwick. But I'm not aware of any feminist celebration of this novel. On the contrary, they didn't like that either."
And I think that's because of the ending.
I believe Updike did set out to write the three witches as heroes (look at how he constantly describes them in terms of their beauty, their intelligence and their connection with nature - even in the last paragraph). And then reality got in the way.
My experience as a woman has taught me that we're able to get along just fine until something becomes a point of competitio...more
I read it in June 2007 and spent several weeks trying to figure out what in the world John Updike was saying.
I found a really interesting Salon interview, in which Updike said, "...I was enough aware of feminist criticisms that my novels always had these same male, sexist, lusty heroes that I did try to write a book involving women as heroes, The Witches of Eastwick. But I'm not aware of any feminist celebration of this novel. On the contrary, they didn't like that either."
And I think that's because of the ending.
I believe Updike did set out to write the three witches as heroes (look at how he constantly describes them in terms of their beauty, their intelligence and their connection with nature - even in the last paragraph). And then reality got in the way.
My experience as a woman has taught me that we're able to get along just fine until something becomes a point of competitio...more
