The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Anyone here fans of John Updike's Rabbit books? I just had to read two in a row for my English class, and we're in heated debate over their literary merit. I like them a lot, myself.

All I know is the google image search for 'Updyke' was disappointing.

Puce wrote:All I know is the google image search for 'Updyke' was disappointing.

That's because they like to go down, not up

Um. Yes, tell us about the Rabbit books of John Updike. Like...what are they about?

this
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 48-2680021
might help shed some light... maybe

Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom was a record-setting basketball player in high school. There were four Rabbit books, coming out in 1959, 1969, 1979, and 1989, all charting his life after his high school peak. The character is a real bastard who doesn't really know how to deal with himself, life, et cetera, but the prose, in my esteem, is absolutely charming. There's some literary debate over whether a character like Rabbit is worth writing about, particularly four full novels. Hence, I bring it up here, but apparently no one's heard of them. Shucks. I recomment them. The first is titled Rabbit, Run, and the third, Rabbit is Rich, won the Pulitzer Prize that year.

i've never read rabbit but i've read a short story by john updike. it seems kind of similar. a young guy just out of high school who doesn't know what to do with himself. i didn't like the character or the things he did it all, but i really like the story because of updikes writing style. i've actually considered reading rabbit because of that story.

You should. What was the story, though? I've read two of his shorts, "A&P" and "Separation," and I have a whole book of Updike stories that I haven't had a chance to read yet, including the "fifth" Rabbit story, "Rabbit Remembered."

it was A & P.

Generic wrote: I bring it up here, but apparently no one's heard of them. Shucks. I recomment them.

I've heard of them. Read them too. My silence was the most effective criticism.

only if you were in the same room. silence on a message board == i did not read it. or i did not read this post.
-bill

HeuristicsInc wrote:only if you were in the same room. silence on a message board == i did not read it. or i did not read this post.
-bill

*shrug* i read every post. That's pretty self-evident from the number of posts I have made.

haha, i bet.
but my silence indicated i had no knowledge of said books.
-bill

Ah, Ok. I was only talking about me. No-one else. And I was joking. Kind of.

"If you're having a hard time finding any negative criticism on an American book you're reading, just look for any British critic writing about." So sayeth my English teacher, so it is. That's alright, Johnny, I won't be personally offended. I figured a little intellectual discussion couldn't hurt the board.

I wanted to, but I could never figure out what order the books were supposed to be in chronologically. >_<

i attempted this, but i thought it was just way too uneventful. and then on top of that everyone single one of the characters pissed me off. they were all assholes. i only made it about half way through before i had to quit.

fodroy wrote:i attempted this, but i thought it was just way too uneventful. and then on top of that everyone single one of the characters pissed me off. they were all assholes. i only made it about half way through before i had to quit.

All of Kennedy O'Toole's characters pissed me off. So I didn't <u>enjoy</u> reading <i>A Confederacy of Dunces</i>, but I felt it was very well-written.

Gemini6Ice wrote:

fodroy wrote:i attempted this, but i thought it was just way too uneventful. and then on top of that everyone single one of the characters pissed me off. they were all assholes. i only made it about half way through before i had to quit.

All of Kennedy O'Toole's characters pissed me off. So I didn't <u>enjoy</u> reading <i>A Confederacy of Dunces</i>, but I felt it was very well-written.

yeah. i feel the same way about updike. great writer. but his characters are douche bags that i don't feel are worth my time.

Gemini6Ice wrote:I wanted to, but I could never figure out what order the books were supposed to be in chronologically. >_<

1. Rabbit, Rub
2. Rabbit Redux
3. Rabbit is Rich
4. Rabbit at Rest

The easiest way to make your novel "literary" is to fill it with characters the reader doesn't like. This makes it seem like you have some other point to the work than entertaining the reader, even if your only goal is to piss off the reader because you're a misanthrope.

Literary merit?? I've never read anything by Updike. But I read a lot.. Regardless; in my opinion, "literary merit" is BS.. There is nothing that "isn't worth writing about"... If the author (the creator of the art in question) deems something worth his or her time to write a novel about it, then it's not useless.

Now, it goes without saying that I prefer to read a book in which I can really relate to the characters; but if I can't, it's not a huge factor in wether or not I like it.

Hm.. Maybe I don't hate asshole characters because (perhaps) I'm an asshole? Which almost answers your question.. hey; even assholes know how to read.

R.I.P. John Updike.

(Wow I was pretentious four years ago.)