A collection of the first three of Updike's Rabbit novels, this is an incredible depiction of American life in the latter half of the 20th century. Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom is a very normal middle class man, not particularly likeable, heroic or awful, living in the small Pennsylvania suburb Mt Judge, set at the foot of Mt Judge mountain close to the large coal industry town of Brewer. He exhibits much of the same mix of good and bad actions as any of us, cowardice in the face of adversity, bigotry and closed mindedness and through these books we see him grow from early adulthood just coming down from stardom as local basketball hero through to middle aged car salesman. We see social mores, material culture, politics, music and gender roles change through the very personal lens of the extremely local. Updike's use of extended metaphor, his attention to period detail and the quality of his writing makes this a really rewarding long read.
In the first book Rabbit Run, we are in the late 1950s, Rabbit has a young family, wife, son and small flat. Rabbit comes home to find his pregnant wife Janice drinking and watching television, and simply runs. He gets as far as Virginia before turning for home, but doesn't go back to his house. Instead he stays with local minister Eccles before taking up with Ruth, a semi-prostitute, leaving her just as he gets the news that Janice is giving birth to their daughter Becky. But he runs again and tragedy ensues.
As the second book, Rabbit Redux, opens we have moved forward to 1969 and Rabbit is working with his father at the printing works. Janice leaves Rabbit for car salesman Charlie Stavros leaving him to care for their son Nelson. Rabbit takes in Jill, a young small town girl searching for herself, and politically motivated Skeeter. Between them they introduce Rabbit to counterculture, drugs and civil right. Tragedy strikes again leaving a schism between Rabbit and Nelson, and at the end of the book Janice returns.
Rabbit is Rich opens in 1979, Rabbit is now head salesman at Janice's father's Toyota dealership, working with Charlie Stavros but still living in Janice's mother's house. Nelson is at college but returns without finishing his course, trailing with him first Melanie and then his pregnant girlfriend Theresa, usually known as Pru. Nelson wants what his father got, an opening at the dealership, and father and son come into innumerable conflicts caused simply by misunderstandings and personality clashes. Rabbit and Janice are still together and finally move into a house of their own as the book closes.
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