I guess that this was inevitable, but The Onion A.V. Club is saying that John Updike has passed away.
Part of me is indifferent, because John Updike became a bit of a bore in the past 15 years, and is probably two generations removed from my own experience. Also the guy was 76 years old.
But it's also really sad, because the nation has lost maybe its finest living man of letters. Of Updike's novels, I've only read Couples, which is a masterpiece. I read a collection of his stories years ago that I think was called Problems and Other Stories. That was a solid collection, and was probably among the first 15 or 20 story collections that I'd read. Also, I was assigned to read The Centaur as an undergraduate, but didn't really give it a shot.
You can say a lot about Updike. Mostly he was kind of a dick, but he was an incredibly smart and sensitive dick who was a chronicler of the American Experience for 50 years. Couples was a remarkable book for me, and should be paired with Revolutionary Road as a reader of how life (and literature) was changed in America with the advent of The Pill.
With Updike gone, I wonder who replaced him as America's greatest living writer. I'm not really a Phillip Roth guy (because I'm a goyim). Who do you think would qualify? Part of me really wants to say John Irving, but I think that's just me.
If you're reading this and you haven't read "A&P," you really should follow this link. It's one of the best short stories ever.
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I was just reading the NYT bit on Updike and thinking I should read some of his novels; maybe I'll start with Couples. Hope the new term is off to a good start!
ReplyDeleteWho will replace Updike as America's greatest living writer? Why, that wizard of words, Michael Chabon!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Brian. I'm guessing that, if you're going to nix Roth (and I do), then you'd have to put the honor on someone like Thomas Pynchon or Don DeLillo. I think one can make a case for Toni Morrison, but I'm not going to be that one.
ReplyDeleteBER: I hope your term is off to a good start, as well. So many unattractive students, I'm afraid. I was wondering what your throughts were on "Praise Song for the Day." Perhaps a blog post?