Requiem for John Updike and Harry Rabbit Angstrom

When I am asked to list my hobbies I never think to list reading as a hobby. However, I get lots of enjoyment and spend lots of idle time reading. I always have a book or two going. I read while waiting for the doctor or the dentist, standing in line at the post office, you name it, I always have a book handy. I once read a 700 page American history book only in the upstairs bathroom. One of the best places to read for me is on the airplane. I love the many hours free from interruption to read what ever book I am working on.

John Updike, who passed away recently, loved to write. From what little I have read about him, he had a goal of writing a certain amount each day. He wrote novels, book reviews, essays. He was quite prolific. Aside from one or two short stories in the New Yorker, the only material of his I have read is a series of 4 books about the life of a fictional character named Harry Angstrom. The Four books are Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, and Rabbit at Rest. The books cover the entire life of one character from his high school days as a star basketball player through the troubles and infidelities of his young married life. The books also deal with the relationships with his mother-in-law, son and various other characters in the books. Updike has an uncanny way of seeing and describing the small details of life, both physical and emotional.

One interesting thing about these books is that I read them over a period of more than 35 years, starting when I was in law school and ending one month ago. I felt like I knew this guy Rabbit Angstrom, that he was a friend and not a fictional character. I could identify with his problems, fears and observations on life. That is what is especially good about John Updike's writing, it is so real. I can identify with what is happening in Rabbit's life, the ordinary everyday troubles we all face. My favorite American author, John O'Hara, also writes about real life, ordinary life and he turns over the daily problems that we all face. Admittedly, these books are not page turners like Dan Brown or Tom Clancy but they engross you in the life and troubles of someone who can be quite real. You can even see yourself in many of these characters and you have known these people at various stages of your life.

You can also learn some universal truths about life, morality, what makes us happy, sad, fulfilled; stuff you don't get in the best seller-page turner. John Updike addresses these issues in his four books about Harry Angstrom and John O'Hara does it in books like From the Terrace and A Rage to Live. You get to live someone else's life and understand your own better. I highly recommend these two authors. So, turn off the TV, shut down the computer and curl up with a good book. I guarantee you will like it; and who really cares if Kobe Bryant wins another NBA Championship any way.