R.I.P. John Updike
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 01.27.09 | 2:55 PM ET
The prolific, Pulitzer Prize-winning author has died at age 76. Though probably best-known for his novels—and particularly for his “Rabbit” series—Updike also produced numerous collections of short stories, poetry, essays and literary criticism. Whether he was chronicling one man’s desperate attempts to escape his pedestrian life in Brewer, Pennsylvania (in Rabbit, Run), or the simple joys of a small-town, Friday night football game (“In Football Season”; find it in The Early Stories), John Updike never failed to make the places, and times, that his characters moved through come vividly, memorably alive. The Los Angeles Times has a thoughtful obit.
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News Review 01.27.09 | 10:51 PM ET
Our deepest condolences to the family left behind by Mr. Updike.. He’s a great man .. But still he is with God and that would give us a peace of mind. We sincerely pray that he may rest in peace..
Dave at Read Street 01.28.09 | 12:51 PM ET
Eva, I’m glad you noted his incredible range. My favorite is “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu,” Updike’s classic 1960 New Yorker piece on Ted Williams’ last game at Fenway Park. From the opening lines, he grabs you with his decriptive language: “Fenway Park, in Boston, is a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark. Everything is painted green and seems in sharp focus, like the inside of an old-fashioned peeping-type Easter egg.”
He perfectly captures the Red Sox legend: ” He ran as he always ran out home runs—hurriedly, unsmiling, head down, as if our praise were a storm of rain to get out of.”
That story is the perfect counterpoint to a snow-covered Baltimore. And I bet you get a chill when Ted gets his last homer. That is Updike’s genius at work.
coffee 01.30.09 | 4:36 AM ET
John Updike’s passing is sad news indeed… he possessed a truly beautiful mind; he didn’t just write well, he wrote wisely
Hugo 02.02.09 | 8:51 PM ET
John Updike é o Balzac da classe média americana
http://www.revistabula.com/
http://www.revistabula.com/materia/john-updike-e-o-balzac-da-classe-media-americana-/950
Tracy Saville 02.05.09 | 6:37 PM ET
Rather than mourn him, Flatmancrooked has decided to celebrate the life and work of John Updike - see what we’ve done at http://www.flatmancrooked.com. We think John Updike has left a legacy of quality narrative, set the bar for young, new writers to achieve.