This is the first John Updike book that I have read. It's a story that describes a single day at an old folks home that is having it's annual fund-raising fair. It's really a comedy of errors in a touching way, showing how people have trouble communicating and are suspicious of people's intentions. Updike also addresses the changes in society perceived by the elderly. Written in 1958, the novel is apparently set in the future (probably around late 1970s) and forecasts some of the changes in morality and religious commitment that has occurred since 1958. In his words,the people "came to the fair to be freshened in the recollection of an older America..." I would love to see it be made into a movie because of all the colorful characters and the little quirky events that fill the day, cause concern, and illustrate the constant clashing of human cells in the microcosm of this community.