Like All Sequels...........

Rabbit Redux is not nearly the classic, "Rabbit, Run" was. John Updike, one of America's premier authors, gave me a taste of true literature in the first novel. I expected more in the second, and was a bit disappointed.

Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, again finds his life challenged. This time by his career as a linotypist and by his wife's infidelity. How bad is Rabbit's life at this stage? Janice, his wife, leaves him for a "used car salesman." Can things get worse? Yes, they can.

Rabbit takes up with a black radical, Skeeter, and his friend, Jill, a rich, spoiled flower child of the 60's. While character development is strong, especially with Skeeter, sometimes the dialogue is dated. While the dialogue with Skeeter can be intriguing, it can get complex. Rabbit's son, Nelson, develops a fruitful learning relationship with the two outsiders and this adds to the high schooler's maturation. Nelson's insight is purposely given thrift by Updike, allowing the reader to gain his own conclusions. Rabbit, through Nelson, learns to appreciate these folks insights, understandings, and lifestyles. This could be the challenges Rabbit has been missing since his high school basketball days.

Crazy could be the description of this novel. Rabbit crazy for harboring a black fugitive, a young female runaway, drug use, and of course, sex. The ending is crazy, complicated and defining, setting the stage for Updike's Rabbit novel #3. Crazy, in defining Viet Nam through Skeeter's eyes, drug use by all, and the changes with life and death.

Updike's view point of middle America in 1969 is Archie Bunker-ish, but with a yearning for change and the "I'll Try Anything Once" attitude. Updike's style and imagery are beautiful and transporting. His written narrative is the best, challenging your mind and thoughts, allowing your mind to wander, travel, and enjoy his descriptive prose. All of this, makes "Rabbit Redux" worthwhile.