Welcome to Reader Meet Author. This is where Nils and Jessica talk about the books they read in 2009.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Rabbit, Run

This was the first time I'd ever read a John Updike book.  Unquestionably, he was a talented writer, whose knack for descriptive, poetic prose is echoed in writers like Don Delillo.  There were several passages in Rabbit, Run that I thought were great, especially near the beginning.  As the novel wears on though, the novel gets bogged down by a lackluster plot and its supremely self-centered protagonist, Rabbit Angstrom.

Rabbit is in his late twenties, unhappily married with one child and another on the way.  His solution to his problem is to leave his wife on a whim and drive off with no real plan.  Throughout the book, Rabbit acts in the same impulsive manner, reversing himself several times to whatever is convenient in the moment, with little to no regard on how his actions affect others. The novel even winds up with a ludicrous climax that recalls the hoary urban legend about the baby sitter on acid unwittingly putting the baby in the oven. The novel almost works as a black comedy, because Rabbit is such a pathetic, foolish character.  

The problem I had with the book is that I got the feeling that Updike doesn't think that Rabbit is a loser, and in fact even wants the reader to root for Rabbit.  In a way, Rabbit, like many of the Updike's protagonists, is a stand-in for the author himself, who can be as self-centered as Rabbit is (For more on this, I would suggest reading David Foster Wallace's excellent essay on Updike titled "Certainly the End of Something or Other").   Maybe that's the reason why I hadn't read Updike before:  while is writing is talented, his male-centered, narcissistic values are decidedly dated.  Ultimately, what Rabbit is running from isn't his family or his responsiblities, but the 20th century itself.

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