Paul Gleason answers “I am not sure I will finish the book!...”

Judite Valverde asked this question about Rabbit, Run (Rabbit Angstrom, #1):

I am not sure I will finish the book! Damn...so many good things to read and I am in a sort of pain reading this one... :/ Should I hope for better...pages?

Paul Gleason Please try reading Updike out loud. You'll catch the music of his prose. He's a genius English-lamguage prose stylist and ranks right up there with Na…morePlease try reading Updike out loud. You'll catch the music of his prose. He's a genius English-lamguage prose stylist and ranks right up there with Nabokov and Joyce. The Rabbit books read like poetry, so much so that each line can be scanned for prosody...

Also, Updike was a true innovator. In the first Rabbit book, he captures suburban angst for the first time in American prose. The opening sequence, as beautiful as any opening sequence in American lit, is a stunning exploration of regret. It's almost a study of what happens when a person fails to exercise their potential (see Aristotle).

It's also to important Kierkegaard, who influences Updike greatly. Of course, Kierkegaard emphasizes subjective decisions in the construction of human identity. It's important to consider the tension between Rabbit's freedom and/or lack of freedom to make ethical decisions. What does choosing to "run" mean? Why does Updike include a comma in the novel's title? Is it an authorial command? The comma is key.

Lots to say about this book and its sequels, which cover four decades of American life. What a terrific presentation of 1950s' mores.

Updike's Rabbit, Roth's Zuckerman (in the American Trilogy), and Ford's Frank Bascombe all benefit from Updike's innovations.(less)

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