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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I'm not sure I fully understood this, but that's okay. I mean, clearly it's a re-telling, of sort, of the myth of Chiron. It's been a long time since I studied Greek mythology, so I don't think I "got" this as much as I could have. The writing is beautiful, in a flowery, literary way. I suppose I enjoyed it, though I can't quite say why. I found both main characters a little annoying, Chiron was especially whiny which is not how I would expect the "noblest of centaurs" to be portrayed. This is definitely a "writer's book", one that could (and I'm sure has) been studied in many a literature class.
NEVER BACK DOWN NEVER WHAT?
My sincerest apologies to John Updike for taking two years to finish this book. I’ll refrain from any opinions on the plot since I can’t remember what I ate for lunch last week, let alone what I read two years ago. I will say that Updike has the ability to craft a sentence unlike anyone else I’ve ever read - his dark humor and observations make the small world of Alton and Ollinger High School come alive.
I feel nostalgic with this book coming to a close. I remember buying it with my Aunt, picked out on a rickety shelf in the basement of Capitol City Books, and carrying it with me through the Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery. Finishing this book feels like the last goodbye to my magical DC year, but how nice to have this book as a thread to tie these stages of my life together.
My sincerest apologies to John Updike for taking two years to finish this book. I’ll refrain from any opinions on the plot since I can’t remember what I ate for lunch last week, let alone what I read two years ago. I will say that Updike has the ability to craft a sentence unlike anyone else I’ve ever read - his dark humor and observations make the small world of Alton and Ollinger High School come alive.
I feel nostalgic with this book coming to a close. I remember buying it with my Aunt, picked out on a rickety shelf in the basement of Capitol City Books, and carrying it with me through the Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery. Finishing this book feels like the last goodbye to my magical DC year, but how nice to have this book as a thread to tie these stages of my life together.
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia
'"Yes," she said. "Now he'll have to think up some new way of getting sympathy." A quick bitter frown came and went in a soothing oval of her face.'
As much as I loved Updike's Rabbit tetralogy, this was a slog. There can't be more insufferable characters in fiction than George Caldwell. Whiny, obsequious, and a father, who, at least, made me more grateful for my own.
It might have been a reflection of the author's relationship with his father, but that doesn't make it material for good fiction. As the novel follows his perspective, as a Pennsylvanian high school teacher, and that of his more bearable son, Peter, it proved a teeth grinding task.
Updike still has a distinct writing style, but I found myself disinterested even by that as the lack of care I felt for either character poisoned the experience. Note to self, it is a chore to read a book where the protagonist is repellant. Worse than that, when they are boring.
As much as I loved Updike's Rabbit tetralogy, this was a slog. There can't be more insufferable characters in fiction than George Caldwell. Whiny, obsequious, and a father, who, at least, made me more grateful for my own.
It might have been a reflection of the author's relationship with his father, but that doesn't make it material for good fiction. As the novel follows his perspective, as a Pennsylvanian high school teacher, and that of his more bearable son, Peter, it proved a teeth grinding task.
Updike still has a distinct writing style, but I found myself disinterested even by that as the lack of care I felt for either character poisoned the experience. Note to self, it is a chore to read a book where the protagonist is repellant. Worse than that, when they are boring.
I typically enjoy Updike; I loved the Rabbit series. This just didn't interest me as much. I really didn't get it.
Incredible book, Updike masters mythological storytelling with dream-like imagery, disorienting juxtapositions between the real and the surreal, and an extended allusion to the myth of Chiron. Explores themes of family, nature, death, and knowledge.
Might reread it at a later date.
Might reread it at a later date.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Perhaps the best that can be said of Updike's story is that it is relatable. But then, in my small, three-person reading group, only two of us (poignantly, both men) were actually able to relate. The trouble is, Updike can prove very alienating in most of his work, depending on your taste. And The Centaur, being an early effort, does not necessarily have all the benefit of experience behind it. On top of that, the book essentially lacks a plot, its characters frequently tend towards shallowness, Updike's misogyny and homophobia excrete themselves all over every page, he takes too much pleasure in his own prose, and the lack of a consistent narrator proves more jolting and frustrating than helpful. For all of these reasons, I was astounded to find that this mostly forgotten book had been awarded the National Book Award. And while it still doesn't deserve the award, it certainly deserves some recognition. Updike struggles to tell a tale of a boy, and his relationship with his father. And while he fails in many respects, that failure captures the complexity of father/son relationships in an unexpected way that is touching, even if (or perhaps because) it is unintended on the part of the author.