This was the first Updike I read, or rather listened (audiobook), and I can see why he is hailed as a master wordsmith. He really has the way with words, his descriptions are vivid, his metaphors unique and funny. That said, this novel seems like an exercise on the subject of the Witches of Eastwick 40 years later. Beside the wordiness, Updike offers little else - no plot, no suspense and no magic, real or metaphoric. Written at the end of his career and life, it's devoid of juice and energy, just like the characters it follows and the author himself. I wish I met Updike through any other of his books.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
"The Widows of Eastwick", a novel
by John Updike
This was the first Updike I read, or rather listened (audiobook), and I can see why he is hailed as a master wordsmith. He really has the way with words, his descriptions are vivid, his metaphors unique and funny. That said, this novel seems like an exercise on the subject of the Witches of Eastwick 40 years later. Beside the wordiness, Updike offers little else - no plot, no suspense and no magic, real or metaphoric. Written at the end of his career and life, it's devoid of juice and energy, just like the characters it follows and the author himself. I wish I met Updike through any other of his books.
This was the first Updike I read, or rather listened (audiobook), and I can see why he is hailed as a master wordsmith. He really has the way with words, his descriptions are vivid, his metaphors unique and funny. That said, this novel seems like an exercise on the subject of the Witches of Eastwick 40 years later. Beside the wordiness, Updike offers little else - no plot, no suspense and no magic, real or metaphoric. Written at the end of his career and life, it's devoid of juice and energy, just like the characters it follows and the author himself. I wish I met Updike through any other of his books.
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