Updike has always had his detractors. Here’s Kathy Acker in the early eighties voicing her concerns…
…then again, HERE is a radio programme where David Baddiel (for it is he) gushes about Updike in general and Rabbit Is Rich in particular.
…as to the rest of the critics, I don’t remember the guys on that edition of “Critic’s Forum” in 1981 being particularly fulsome. HERE is the New York Times with some fairly backhanded compliments
…and HERE is Martin Amis, of all people, damning Updike with some seriously faint praise. How does Rabbit Angstrom compare to Keith Talent or John Self? At least the review touches on the problems of not letting virtuosity run away with itself.
If you haven’t already read this book, then Gav think’s you should. Tom wasn’t so struck, but give it the first fifty pages and see if you care about these characters. If you can’t be bothered to read it, HERE is a link to the BBC ten-part Radio Drama.
Here’s a rather thought-provoking clip of Updike’s son David, who is also a writer…
Rabbit Is Rich - John Updike (1981)
gasgiants.substack.com
Rabbit Is Rich - John Updike (1981)
Tom & Gav look again at Updike's Pulitzer prize winner and ask what it has to tell us about the passage of time.
Transcript
Gas Giants
All of culture explained by two fat old men, one artifact at a time. Gav and Tom gas about music, movies, TV, books and their creators attempting to understand what they mean about everything else in the world. New episodes every other week Fridays.
All of culture explained by two fat old men, one artifact at a time. Gav and Tom gas about music, movies, TV, books and their creators attempting to understand what they mean about everything else in the world. New episodes every other week Fridays.
Rabbit Is Rich - John Updike (1981)