scriptions of characters and their neighborhoods are phenomenal. He has a way of illuminating the inner workings of American optimism (sports heroes, suburban consumer culture) without looking down on it. In fact, he seems to cherish it, focusing his lens on the unspoken dreams that make our society and our personalities what we are. This book -- along with its sequels -- is one of the great pieces of American literary art. PS If that's not enough to grab you, read it for Updike's incomparable descriptions of lovemaking. Arrestingly specific and vivid. Only a handful of authors can actually describe sex -- I mean, really describe it -- and show the way people's personalities are played out in bed just like they are anywhere else. The main character is a charismatic, self-absorbed yearner, in search of his lost youth at all times -- even during sex. In Updike's world, sex isn't pornographic -- it's part of life. Top of FormI'll admit it - I toyed with the idea of putting this book back on the shelf at times. Like Wolfe or Faulkner, the prose is rich and decadent; each sentence conveys a great deal of meaning and can't be assimilated quickly. I stuck with it, and by the 50th page or so, the style became more natural and the characters opened up to me. You'd have to possess a dark and vicious world-view to think of this as the story of an Everyman, an average-Joe, a typical American male of his generation. Rabbit exists in a moralistic void, a near-complete vacant solipsism making him react in ways more animal than human. Rabbit fails to choose a particular path simply because he never seems to realize that he has choices to make. He's fully accustomed to getting by on an innate likeability and his athletic grace; a fact which perhaps has stunted his development and lead him to his state of sociopathic carelessness for the feelings of others. Reading this book is an exciting experience and I recommend it highly. Mt. Judge and Brewer are po...
