Helpful Score: 5
Finished reading this today. It's the story of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, a middle class man living in a small Pennsylvania town in the late 1950s (published in 1960). Rabbit feels trapped in his life with a pregnant wife who drinks, and a young son to support, living in a cheap apartment. On impulse, Rabbit leaves his life and runs - first to West Virgina and then back to his home town. He moves in with Ruth - a sometimes prostitute - and goes back to his wife when she has their second child. Tragedy ensues and Rabbit ends up running again. This was a very realistic look at life during the 50s. It's a very American point of view. Updike's prose is eloquent but his sentences are sometimes long and seem to run together - he also uses a lot of metaphors and is very descriptive. This is the first of 4 novels about Rabbit written at 10-year intervals. This one ended kind of abruptly and it made me want to find out what happens to Rabbit in the ensuing years. I have a copy of Rabbit Redux which I will probably read soon. Overall, I would recommend this novel but it is definitely a downer look at life. It definitely does not describe the idealistic small-town American life in the 1950's as portrayed in "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" - this book shows a much more realistic view of it.
Rabbit Run is a beautifully written book. Updike has remarkable linguistic and descriptive skills, but the cynicism and despair become redundant. The overriding theme is narcissism, so "enjoy" is a strong term. Completely selfish and unable to empathize with any human, Rabbit is thoroughly unlikable. Is he aware of the destruction he leaves in his wake? Does he care? Do I?
This book is very well-written--awesome description. I really wanted to throttle the characters for their actions, but they come across as very human--like people you may know in your life.
This book made me mad reading it. Rabbit is an example of why women hate men. I'm refrain from the few choice words I have to describe him.
