Synopsis
Rabbit, Run is the book that established John Updike as one of the major American novelists of his-or any other-generation. Its hero is Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, a onetime high-school basketball star who on an impulse deserts his wife and son. He is twenty-six years old, a man-child caught in a struggle between instinct and thought, self and society, sexual gratification and family duty-even, in a sense, human hard-heartedness and divine Grace. Though his flight from home traces a zigzag of evasion, he holds to the faith that he is on the right path, an invisible line toward his own salvation as straight as a ruler's edge.
Review
I read Rabbit, Run when I was in high school (and it wasn't even a school assignment!). Twenty years later (at least!), three very vivid scenes from that book still pop into my head from time to time. The first is the used-car lot, where Rabbit Angstrom, the former basketball star, works for his father-in-law. The second scene is in a very red Chinese restaurant that had changed over from a French restaurant only the week before. Rabbit is there with his old coach and two women that are not their wives, and they drink daiquiris and whiskey sours. This restaurant could have been (and was) in my small town. The third scene is the most harrowing, and I've repeated it as a cautionary tale to young mothers for years, telling the story as if it had happened to someone I know. Janice, Rabbit's wife, who slugs alcohol throughout her pregnancy, is drunk and bathing her newborn baby when something terrible happens. I won't ruin it by telling you more. I read hundreds of books a year, both for my job and for pleasure, so the fact that parts of this book are so indelibly etched in my mind is a testament to the talent and genius of John Updike.
P.S. all of the other books in the Rabbit series are equally unforgettable.
--Maureen O'NealHarry Angstrom was a star basketball player in high school and that was the best time of his life. Now in his mid-20s, his work is unfulfilling, his marriage is moribund, and he tries to find happiness with another woman. But happiness is more elusive than a medal, and Harry must continue to run--from his wife, his life, and from himself, until he reaches the end of the road and has to turn back....
Rabbit, Run
It's 1959 and Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom, one time high school sports superstar, is going nowhere. At twenty-six he is trapped in a second-rate existence - stuck with a fragile, alcoholic wife, a house full of overflowing ashtrays and discarded glasses, a young son and a futile job. With no way to fix things, he resolves to flee from his family and his home in Pennsylvania, beginning a thousand-mile journey that he hopes will free him from his mediocre life. Because, as he knows only too well, 'after you've been first-rate at something, no matter what, it kind of takes the kick out of being second-rate'. Includes an afterword by the author.
The first book in John Updike's award-winning 'Rabbit' series, with an afterword by the author It's 1959 and Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom, one time high school sports superstar, is going nowhere."
New Essays on Rabbit Run
The essays in this collection examine the technical mastery and thematic range of John Updike's novel Rabbit Run.
The essays in this collection examine the technical mastery and thematic range of John Updike's novel Rabbit Run."
Rabbit Redux
In this sequel to Rabbit, Run, John Updike resumes the spiritual quest of his anxious Everyman, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom. Ten years have passed; the impulsive former athlete has become a paunchy thirty-six-year-old conservative, and Eisenhower’s becalmed America has become 1969’s lurid turmoil of technology, fantasy, drugs, and violence. Rabbit is abandoned by his family, his home invaded by a runaway and a radical, his past reduced to a ruined inner landscape; still he clings to semblances of decency and responsibility, and yearns to belong and to believe.
In this sequel to Rabbit, Run, John Updike resumes the spiritual quest of his anxious Everyman, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom."
Rabbit at Rest
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Howells Medal, and the National Book Critics Circle Award In John Updike’s fourth and final novel about Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, the hero has acquired a Florida condo, a second grandchild, and a troubled, overworked heart. His son, Nelson, is behaving erratically; his daughter-in-law, Pru, is sending him mixed signals; and his wife, Janice, decides in midlife to return to the world of work. As, through the year of 1989, Reagan’s debt-ridden, AIDS-plagued America yields to that of the first George Bush, Rabbit explores the bleak terrain of late middle age, looking for reasons to live and opportunities to make peace with a remorselessly accumulating past.
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • One of the most gifted American writers of the twentieth century brings back ex-basketball player Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, the late middle-aged hero of Rabbit, Run, who has acquired heart trouble, a Florida ..."
Imagery and technique in John Updike's 'Rabbit, Run' (1960)
Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,5 , University of Hamburg, 17 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Perhaps the most revered Updike novels are his Rabbit tetralogy, comprised of four books that ran from 1959 to 1991, which detail the center of American life, i.e. the middle class. Hence, the protagonist Harry ‘Rabbit’ Angstrom can be regarded as Updike’s most famous character. From his Rabbit series, the first novel Rabbit, Run is without doubt Updike’s most recognized book. In Updike’s own words, Rabbit is a character that is similar to the author. Hence, Updike once told Michael Rogers in an interview that even though he does not have the same social background and sociological circumstances as his character Rabbit, many of his ideas and thoughts enter Rabbit’s head. Thus, one might be justified in claiming that the Rabbit novels are also partly autobiographical. However, since the novel Rabbit Run has been published, some critics have not held it in great esteem. Nevertheless, Detweiler also claims that today the novel can be appreciated more fully for its artistic qualities – and these qualities are, in fact, quite numerous. Hence, there are many critics who appreciate Updike’s style and his mastery of language. For example, Rachael C. Burchard calls Updike’s art of writing “superb” and says that “[h]is work is worth reading if for no reason other than to enjoy the piquant phrase, the lyric vision, the fluent rhetoric”. In the following, it will be analyzed which techniques Updike uses in the novel Rabbit, Run. Hence, it will be focused primarily on the narrative technique. In a second step, the structure of the novel will also be analyzed and the central motif of the quest will be dealt with.
Thus, one might be justified in claiming that the Rabbit novels are also partly autobiographical. However, since the novel Rabbit Run has been published, some critics have not held it in great esteem."
Rabbit, run ; Rabbit redux
"The first and second novels in John Updike's acclaimed quartet of Rabbit books-now in one marvelous volume. " RABBIT, RUN "Brilliant and poignant . . . By his compassion, clarity of insight, and crystal-bright prose, [Updike] makes Rabbit's sorrow his and out own." -"The Washington Post ""Precise, graceful, stunning, he is an athlete of words and images. He is also an impeccable observer of thoughts and feelings." -"The Village Voice " RABBIT REDUX " 'Great in love, in art, boldness, freedom, wisdom, kindness, exceedingly rich in intelligence, wit, imagination, and feeling-a great and beautiful thing . . .' these hyperboles (quoted from a letter written long ago by Thomas Mann) come to mind after reading John Updike's "Rabbit Redux." -The New York Times Book Review" " ""Updike owns a rare verbal genius, a gifted intelligence and a sense of tragedy made bearable by wit. . . . A masterpiece." -"Time"
"The first and second novels in John Updike's acclaimed quartet of Rabbit books-now in one marvelous volume."
John Updike: Novels 1959-1965 (LOA #311)
Library of America launches its definitive multi-volume edition of John Updike's novels with the four early works that signaled the arrival of one of the most gifted young novelists of the 1960s. John Updike had already made a name as a contributor of stories and poems to The New Yorker when, in January 1959, at the age of twenty-six, he published his first novel, The Poorhouse Fair, launching one of the most extraordinary literary careers in American letters. Now, Library of America inaugurates a multi-volume edition of Updike's novels with this volume gathering his first four novels, including the landmark Rabbit, Run, chosen in 2010 by TIME Magazine one of the best 100 novels published in English since 1923. Set in the near future of 1978, The Poorhouse Fair stages a conflict between John Hook, a rebellious ninety-four-year-old former schoolteacher now a resident of a rural poorhouse, and young Mr. Conner, the utilitarian humanist who runs the facility, as an allegory of resistance in a world of systems and efficiencies. Updike's legendary rejoinder to Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Rabbit, Run (1960) introduces us to the author's most enduring protagonist, Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, a onetime high-school basketball star who, on an impulse, deserts his wife and son, with tragic consequences. The Centaur, a comic-tragic father-son novel that mixes memory and myth, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1964. The novella Of the Farm (1965) is one of Updike's loveliest performances, a kind of chamber music for four voices set during a single memorable weekend. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.
Now, Library of America inaugurates a multi-volume edition of Updike's novels with this volume gathering his first four novels, including the landmark Rabbit, Run, chosen in 2010 by TIME Magazine one of the best 100 novels published in ..."
A Study Guide for John Updike's "Rabbit, Run"
A Study Guide for John Updike's "Rabbit, Run," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.
This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more."
Rabbit Is Rich
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award The hero of John Updike’s Rabbit, Run, ten years after the events of Rabbit Redux, has come to enjoy considerable prosperity as the chief sales representative of Springer Motors, a Toyota agency in Brewer, Pennsylvania. The time is 1979: Skylab is falling, gas lines are lengthening, and double-digit inflation coincides with a deflation of national self-confidence. Nevertheless, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom feels in good shape, ready to enjoy life at last—until his wayward son, Nelson, returns from the West, and the image of an old love pays a visit to the lot. New characters and old populate these scenes from Rabbit’s middle age as he continues to pursue, in his zigzagging fashion, the rainbow of happiness.
The hero of John Updike’s Rabbit, Run, ten years after the hectic events described in Rabbit Redux, has come to enjoy considerable prosperity as Chief Sales Representative of Springer Motors, a Toyota agency in Brewer, Pennsylvania."
Study Guide to Rabbit, Run and Rabbit Redux by John Updike
A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for selected works by John Updike, two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction in 1982 and 1991. Titles in this study guide include Rabbit Run and Rabbit Redux. As a prominent voice of literary realism for 1970s American fiction, Updike’s Rabbit novels commented on the changing social and political hierarchies of late modernism in America’s Eisenhour era. Moreover, Updike has been called a “maker of fables and parables,” which can be seen through his use of symbolism and imagery. This Bright Notes Study Guide explores the context and history of Updike’s classic work, helping students to thoroughly explore the reasons they have stood the literary test of time. Each Bright Notes Study Guide contains: - Introductions to the Author and the Work - Character Summaries - Plot Guides - Section and Chapter Overviews - Test Essay and Study Q&As The Bright Notes Study Guide series offers an in-depth tour of more than 275 classic works of literature, exploring characters, critical commentary, historical background, plots, and themes. This set of study guides encourages readers to dig deeper in their understanding by including essay questions and answers as well as topics for further research.
A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for selected works by John Updike, two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction in 1982 and 1991. Titles in this study guide include Rabbit Run and Rabbit Redux."
Rabbit Angstrom
"Four novels trace the life of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom against the changing American society from the sixties to the eighties."--
"Four novels trace the life of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom against the changing American society from the sixties to the eighties."--"
Brazil
Tristao Raposo, a nineteen-year old black child of the Rio slums, spies Isabel Leme, an eighteen-year-old upper-class white girl, across the hot sands of Copacabana Neach, and presents her with a ring. Their flight into marriage takes them from urban banality to the farthest reaches of Brazil's wild west....
Their flight into marriage takes them from urban banality to the farthest reaches of Brazil's wild west."
Of the Farm
Of the Farm recounts Joey Robinson's visit to the farm where he grew up and where his mother now lives alone. Accompanied by his newly acquired second wife, Peggy, and an eleven-year-old stepson, Joey spends three days reassessing and evaluating the course his life has run. But for Joey and Peggy, the delicate balance of love and sex is threatened by a dangerous new awareness.
Of the Farm recounts Joey Robinson's visit to the farm where he grew up and where his mother now lives alone."
Rabbit is rich ; Rabbit at rest
The third and fourth novel in John Updike’s acclaimed quartet of Rabbit books–now in one marvelous volume. RABBIT IS RICH Winner of the American Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award “Dazzlingly reaffirms Updike’s place as master chronicler of the spiritual maladies and very earthly pleasure of the Middle-American male.” –Vogue “A splendid achievement!” –The New York Times RABBIT AT REST Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award “Brilliant . . . It must be read. It is the best novel about America to come out of America for a very, very long time.” –The Washington Post Book World “Powerful . . . John Updike with his precision’s prose and his intimately attentive yet cold eye is a master.” –The New York Times Book Review
. . It must be read. It is the best novel about America to come out of America for a very, very long time.” –The Washington Post Book World “Powerful . . ."
A Rabbit Omnibus
The trilogy comprises of Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux and Rabbit is Rich. It is intended as an amusing, sympathetic study of a man, Rabbit Angstron, putting up a fight against the inevitable.
The trilogy comprises of Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux and Rabbit is Rich. It is intended as an amusing, sympathetic study of a man, Rabbit Angstron, putting up a fight against the inevitable."
Imagery and Technique in John Updike's 'Rabbit, Run' (1960)
Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,5, University of Hamburg, 17 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Perhaps the most revered Updike novels are his Rabbit tetralogy, comprised of four books that ran from 1959 to 1991, which detail the center of American life, i.e. the middle class. Hence, the protagonist Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom can be regarded as Updike's most famous character. From his Rabbit series, the first novel Rabbit, Run is without doubt Updike's most recognized book. In Updike's own words, Rabbit is a character that is similar to the author. Hence, Updike once told Michael Rogers in an interview that even though he does not have the same social background and sociological circumstances as his character Rabbit, many of his ideas and thoughts enter Rabbit's head. Thus, one might be justified in claiming that the Rabbit novels are also partly autobiographical. However, since the novel Rabbit Run has been published, some critics have not held it in great esteem. Nevertheless, Detweiler also claims that today the novel can be appreciated more fully for its artistic qualities - and these qualities are, in fact, quite numerous. Hence, there are many critics who appreciate Updike's style and his mastery of language. For example, Rachael C. Burchard calls Updike's art of writing "superb" and says that " h]is work is worth reading if for no reason other than to enjoy the piquant phrase, the lyric vision, the fluent rhetoric". In the following, it will be analyzed which techniques Updike uses in the novel Rabbit, Run. Hence, it will be focused primarily on the narrative technique. In a second step, the structure of the novel will also be analyzed and the central motif of the quest will be dealt with.
Introduction John Updike is one of the most prolific and important American authors of the contemporary period, ... Updike received a Pulitzer Prize for Rabbit Run , which begins with Rabbit at age 27 and was first published in 1960."
Rabbit Run
Traditional Chinese edition of Rabbit Run, first of four-book novel about the life of Rabbit Angstrom by John Updike. The series spans the four decades after WWII and tells the story of America during those forty years through the protagonist. In Traditional Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.
The series spans the four decades after WWII and tells the story of America during those forty years through the protagonist. In Traditional Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc."
Basic Bech
Basic Bech combines two classic titles -- Bech: A Book and Bech is Back -- from one of John Updike's most beloved characters. Henry Bech, the celebrated author of Travel Light, has been scrutinized, canonized and vilified by reviewers, academics, critics and readers across the world. Suffering from temporary impotence and not-so-temporary writer's block, Bech finds renewed fame when he returns to his native America and Think Big, his all-time blockbuster, hits the shops . . . In these classic novels by John Updike, we return to a character as compelling and timeless as Rabbit Angstrom: the inimitable Henry Bech. Famous for his writer's block, Bech is a Jew adrift in a world of Gentiles. As he roams from one adventure to the next, he views life with a blend of wonder and cynicism that will make you laugh with delight and wince in recognition. Praise for John Updike: 'Our time's greatest man of letters - as brilliant a literary critic and essayist as he was a novelist and short-story writer. His death constitutes a loss to our literature that is immeasurable' Philip Roth 'Alert, funny, sensuous. Here is a writer who can do more or less as he likes' Martin Amis 'One of the most protean of American writers . . . For a writer whose prose can be so lush and hyper-charged, he has always been in contact with the material detritus of everyday life' The Times 'He was the ideal son of a platonic union between John Cheever and J.D. Salinger, with Nabokov attending the christening as fairy godfather' James Wood John Updike was born in 1932 in Shillington, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harvard College in 1954, and spent a year in Oxford, at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. His novels, stories, and nonfiction collections have won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He died in January 2009.
. . In these classic novels by John Updike, we return to a character as compelling and timeless as Rabbit Angstrom: the inimitable Henry Bech. Famous for his writer's block, Bech is a Jew adrift in a world of Gentiles."
John Updike's Rabbit Tetralogy
Structure of the finished "mega-novel" echoes the work's thematic rationale." "To help readers who are interested in a particular Rabbit novel. Boswell devotes a chapter to each individual section of the tetralogy. At the same time, he treats each novel as an integral part of the more comprehensive whole." --Book Jacket.
... mechanical “subtlety,” John Updike created a mini- revolution in literary sensibility when he elected to cast his second novel in the existential “here and now.” For in both Rabbit , Run and Rabbit Angstrom as a whole, ..."
In the Beauty of the Lilies
Taking its title from the "Battle Hymn of the Republic\
It is one of John Updike's fullest and finest work of fiction."
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