A Few Thoughts

This is maybe Updike's most beloved novel, so I meant to get around to it much sooner than I did. I must say that it did not live up to the hype. I really struggled to get through the first third of it, having no real interest in the character and great difficulty relating to his decisions or even understanding them. Perhaps it's because I've never been plagued by the sense of restlessness that seems to propel Rabbit forward in his life.

Despite all of that, I ended up liking the book. It picked up in the later two thirds and I even found myself eager to continue the story on a few occasions. I'm glad I read it. It was a good book. Not a great book, but a good one.

I imagine my perceptions would also have been different if I read it in the era it was written in. I imagine many aspects of the story would have been quite controversial and seemed morally more vast. But, I didn't read it in 1960 and whatever is lost by having not makes no difference to my experience ultimately.

I do think I'll pick up the next one (Rabbit Redux) at some point and see how it goes for Rabbit. I think I might have ended up liking him in spite of myself. Or maybe I just found him curious enough to check in on from time to time.