Point Books In Favor Of Rabbit Omnibus: Rabbit Run / Rabbit Redux / Rabbit Is Rich (Rabbit Angstrom #1-3)
| Original Title: | Rabbit Novels Vol. 1 |
| ISBN: | 014015809X (ISBN13: 9780140158090) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Rabbit Angstrom #1-3 |
John Updike
Paperback | Pages: 700 pages Rating: 3.98 | 1094 Users | 75 Reviews
Itemize About Books Rabbit Omnibus: Rabbit Run / Rabbit Redux / Rabbit Is Rich (Rabbit Angstrom #1-3)
| Title | : | Rabbit Omnibus: Rabbit Run / Rabbit Redux / Rabbit Is Rich (Rabbit Angstrom #1-3) |
| Author | : | John Updike |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 700 pages |
| Published | : | November 19th 2001 by Penguin Books Ltd (first published January 1st 1981) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Literature. Classics. American. Literary Fiction. Novels. Contemporary |
Narration During Books Rabbit Omnibus: Rabbit Run / Rabbit Redux / Rabbit Is Rich (Rabbit Angstrom #1-3)
A collection of the first three of Updike's Rabbit novels, this is an incredible depiction of American life in the latter half of the 20th century. Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom is a very normal middle class man, not particularly likeable, heroic or awful, living in the small Pennsylvania suburb Mt Judge, set at the foot of Mt Judge mountain close to the large coal industry town of Brewer. He exhibits much of the same mix of good and bad actions as any of us, cowardice in the face of adversity, bigotry and closed mindedness and through these books we see him grow from early adulthood just coming down from stardom as local basketball hero through to middle aged car salesman. We see social mores, material culture, politics, music and gender roles change through the very personal lens of the extremely local. Updike's use of extended metaphor, his attention to period detail and the quality of his writing makes this a really rewarding long read. In the first book Rabbit Run, we are in the late 1950s, Rabbit has a young family, wife, son and small flat. Rabbit comes home to find his pregnant wife Janice drinking and watching television, and simply runs. He gets as far as Virginia before turning for home, but doesn't go back to his house. Instead he stays with local minister Eccles before taking up with Ruth, a semi-prostitute, leaving her just as he gets the news that Janice is giving birth to their daughter Becky. But he runs again and tragedy ensues. As the second book, Rabbit Redux, opens we have moved forward to 1969 and Rabbit is working with his father at the printing works. Janice leaves Rabbit for car salesman Charlie Stavros leaving him to care for their son Nelson. Rabbit takes in Jill, a young small town girl searching for herself, and politically motivated Skeeter. Between them they introduce Rabbit to counterculture, drugs and civil right. Tragedy strikes again leaving a schism between Rabbit and Nelson, and at the end of the book Janice returns. Rabbit is Rich opens in 1979, Rabbit is now head salesman at Janice's father's Toyota dealership, working with Charlie Stavros but still living in Janice's mother's house. Nelson is at college but returns without finishing his course, trailing with him first Melanie and then his pregnant girlfriend Theresa, usually known as Pru. Nelson wants what his father got, an opening at the dealership, and father and son come into innumerable conflicts caused simply by misunderstandings and personality clashes. Rabbit and Janice are still together and finally move into a house of their own as the book closes.Rating About Books Rabbit Omnibus: Rabbit Run / Rabbit Redux / Rabbit Is Rich (Rabbit Angstrom #1-3)
Ratings: 3.98 From 1094 Users | 75 ReviewsNotice About Books Rabbit Omnibus: Rabbit Run / Rabbit Redux / Rabbit Is Rich (Rabbit Angstrom #1-3)
It is difficult to review this trilogy without spoilers! I will say that it took me some time to get into Rabbit Run, but once I got going I thoroughly enjoyed all three novels.It is the story of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom's adult life. An adored basketballer in his teenage years, he finds himself in his early 20's, selling kitchen appliances, with a 2 year old son and Janice, his heavily pregnant alcoholic wife. He lacks the emotional maturity to deal with the fact this his promising life hasRabbit, Run was on the list I've been trying to tackle, so when I saw this two-book volume at a used book shop I picked it up with only vague thoughts of reading the second novel in the series. I thought maybe I'd read it at some point but nope, I turned the page right over to Rabbit Redux the moment I finished. Had I had the second volume on hand (with books three and four in the series) I would have picked that one up immediately after finishing as well!What makes these books fascinating is
I'm liking it so far, although the prose can be a little mind-bending. But imagery, creating a world, this is something that John Updike, I am learning, excels at. Quite a good read. It was a long haul, but you end up going through three decades and getting a feel for each one of them, though I wasn't alive for any of them. At a parallel to these decades (the first three decades of the Cold War - a case could be made that the relationship between Rabbit and other characters in this book relates
The most significant aspect of this book is the fact that the main character is so inept. He is a blind, selfish, immature piece of shit, and that is what makes the novel insightful, tragic, and viscerally, poignantly true.Rabbit, Run is great. Rabbit Redux is not.
Rabbit,Run is the first of Updike's Angstrom trilogy.We meet Harry Angstrom - known as Rabbit - one time high school basketball star, now in his mid-20s, living a life with a wife he alternatively despises and loves, and a waste of time job. One evening on returning from work, Rabbit finds his pregnant wife at home in an alcoholic stupor, their infant son in the care of his parents. Rabbit runs for the first time. A long night time drive that takes from the family home in the Pennsylvanian town
Updike paints a picture of ennui and angst using words as his medium and an unhappy ex-high school jock named Rabbit as his subject. Rabbit wanders listlessly through life, hurting family and friends as he goes. Not even some help from an agnostic Episcopalian priest can help Rabbit. The second book is longer than the first and captures the zeitgeist of 1969 quite well. This time Rabbit doesn't run, someone else does. You'll have to read the book to see who runs. The two novels together make
This was a tough book to rate. I started to read Updike shortly following his death after I read a few of his poems in the New Yorker. I was immediately a fan and could not wait to read Rabbit, Run and Rabbit, Redux.He is such a fabulous writer, he loves words and uses them better than most.The Rabbit books take place in Suburban Americana in the late fifties/ early sixties.Both are great reads and are fun "slices of life" from that time, however, there was some unexpected tragedies that take
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