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raelovestoread 's review for:
Rabbit, Run
by John Updike
PopSugar Reading Challenge 2023: A book with a song lyric as its title
Let's be clear. The titular Rabbit is the absolute epitome of a selfish arse. If you need likeable characters to enjoy a book, look elsewhere.
This is a book about what would happen if a family man shirked his responsibilities and did whatever the hell took his fancy.
Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, it does not lead to greatness!
I like that Updike took exception to novels glamorising escape from social constraints and tried to produce a more realistic portrayal of what hitting the road in a paroxysm of disillusionment might entail.
Having said that, you can't exactly accuse Updike of lionising his female characters either. We see the world through Rabbit's misogynistic gaze and it makes me glad I wasn't alive in the 50s.
Rabbit, run neither preaches nor punishes. It simply describes the mindset of a young man trying to escape mediocrity and winging it. Rabbit is a character both unexceptional and unforgettable.
John Updike writes gorgeously. Sometimes I found myself zoning out for long scenery-describing passages, but the character interactions were golden. I began to feel more invested in the story as the consequences stacked up and the plot got messier.
If you like your novels well written, morally dubious, and depressingly cemented in the real world, this is for you.
Let's be clear. The titular Rabbit is the absolute epitome of a selfish arse. If you need likeable characters to enjoy a book, look elsewhere.
This is a book about what would happen if a family man shirked his responsibilities and did whatever the hell took his fancy.
Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, it does not lead to greatness!
I like that Updike took exception to novels glamorising escape from social constraints and tried to produce a more realistic portrayal of what hitting the road in a paroxysm of disillusionment might entail.
Having said that, you can't exactly accuse Updike of lionising his female characters either. We see the world through Rabbit's misogynistic gaze and it makes me glad I wasn't alive in the 50s.
Rabbit, run neither preaches nor punishes. It simply describes the mindset of a young man trying to escape mediocrity and winging it. Rabbit is a character both unexceptional and unforgettable.
John Updike writes gorgeously. Sometimes I found myself zoning out for long scenery-describing passages, but the character interactions were golden. I began to feel more invested in the story as the consequences stacked up and the plot got messier.
If you like your novels well written, morally dubious, and depressingly cemented in the real world, this is for you.