Rabbit Novels Vol. 2 [Paperback]

John Updike (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2003

The third and fourth novel in John Updike’s acclaimed quartet of Rabbit books–now in one marvelous volume.

RABBIT IS RICH
Winner of the American Book Award and
the National Book Critics Circle Award

“Dazzlingly reaffirms Updike’s place as master chronicler of the spiritual maladies and very earthly pleasure of the Middle-American male.”
–Vogue

“A splendid achievement!”
–The New York Times


RABBIT AT REST
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and
the National Book Critics Circle Award

“Brilliant . . . It must be read. It is the best novel about America to come out of America for a very, very long time.”
–The Washington Post Book World

“Powerful . . . John Updike with his precision’s prose and his intimately attentive yet cold eye is a master.”
–The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for John Updike

RABBIT IS RICH
“Updike at the very height of his powers . . . Rich, funny.”
–New York

“We recognize in Rabbit our own longing. How emphatically American it is.”
–Chicago Sun-Times

“Masterful . . . Graceful prose and vivid imagination.”
–The Dallas Morning News


RABBIT AT REST
“The most authoritative and most magical portrait yet written of the past four decades of American life.”
–Time

“A rich and rewarding novel . . . Updike is working at the full height of his powers.”
–The New York Times

“Extraordinary . . . One of Updike’s finest novels.”
–Los Angeles Times Book Review

From the Inside Flap

The third and fourth novel in John Updike?s acclaimed quartet of Rabbit books?now in one marvelous volume.

RABBIT IS RICH
Winner of the American Book Award and
the National Book Critics Circle Award

?Dazzlingly reaffirms Updike?s place as master chronicler of the spiritual maladies and very earthly pleasure of the Middle-American male.?
?Vogue

?A splendid achievement!?
?The New York Times


RABBIT AT REST
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and
the National Book Critics Circle Award

?Brilliant . . . It must be read. It is the best novel about America to come out of America for a very, very long time.?
?The Washington Post Book World

?Powerful . . . John Updike with his precision?s prose and his intimately attentive yet cold eye is a master.?
?The New York Times Book Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 912 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (November 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345464575
• ISBN-13: 978-0345464576
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Updike was born in 1932, in Shillington, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harvard College in 1954, and spent a year in Oxford, England, at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. From 1955 to 1957 he was a member of the staff of The New Yorker, and since 1957 lived in Massachusetts. He was the father of four children and the author of more than fifty books, including collections of short stories, poems, essays, and criticism. His novels won the Pulitzer Prize (twice), the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Rosenthal Award, and the Howells Medal. A previous collection of essays, Hugging the Shore, received the 1983 National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism. John Updike died on January 27, 2009, at the age of 76.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God's Gift to Humankind, July 11, 2007

By 

David Schweizer "Almawood" (Kansas, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rabbit Novels Vol. 2 (Paperback)

These Rabbit books may not rank by academic standards with the likes of James Joyce or Marcel Proust, but by any other standard, they may be said to be the absolute best there is. Updike can be unsatisfying - there are pieces that I have had trouble getting through, but one comes to accept the fact that writers run in streaks like baseball players. In this series, Updike was having one of those incredibly productive 'seasons', and as a result we have this rich, hilarious, moving set of books which improve from volume to volume. By the time one gets to "Rabbit Is Rich," Updike is writing at his best. What is so great here is that one can live in Rabbit's world with him, especially if you remember the Carter years, the arrival on these shores of Toyota, and the odd sense of anxiety that grew in the land as a result of that and other signs of national decay. Updike sees it all. Rabbit is rich, but Rabbit is not happy. His sex life isn't what it used to be, but he still gets a kick out of looking at women's breasts, enjoys contemplating the color of a stranger's body hair, can't help noticing little perfections and imperfections on his daughter-in-laws legs. His disappointments preoccupy him, but his memory of moments of happiness is keen, so we bask in his nostalgia. Rabbit is especially hilarious on the subject of America's youth, especially that of his son, who has bad taste in just about everything. Rabbit plays the maimed hero, triumphant yet oddly unmanned.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece(s) ..., December 1, 2007

By 

Charlie Stella (Fords, New Joisey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rabbit Novels Vol. 2 (Paperback)

I reread Rabbit Run and Redux after 25+ years and was so glad I did. I remembered enjoying them way back in college, but probably didn't "get" them the way I do at age 51. I've since been reading all of Updike's novels and short stories ... he's an American master and the Rabbit novels more than prove it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Literary Accomplishment, November 3, 2009

By 

Daniel L. Clay "Fiction Fan" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rabbit Novels Vol. 2 (Paperback)

A remarkable pair of novels. You will care for Rabbit deeply by the end of the series, despite (or perhaps because of) his relatable faults. Updike paints such a detailed picture of Rabbit's life, but somehow the story transcends the details and speaks of American Life in general. Truly mesmerizing prose - get ready to underline a lot of passages and dog ear a lot of pages!