R.I.P. John Updike 1932-2009
I was blown away by John Updike’s “Rabbit” novels when I read them in college. The writing flowed like nothing I had read before, and his ability to capture an American humanity, one that I could only catch glimpses of growing up in Charlotte, NC, onto the page made me look at the world around me in a different way. I will be reading and re-reading those books for the rest of my life. I place them up there with “Catcher” on my profound works of literature list. Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom is more than imperfect. In fact, he’s a terrible human being, but I feel that all of us has a bit of Harry in us. To many, I’m sure this character came off as a total monster, but he is just a guy trying to find some happiness in a society that is more often than not a confusing, rigorous shitstorm. He does those things that pop up within all of us as dirty little thoughts we like to push away back into our subconscious. It’s hard for me to put into words exactly how these books affected me. They gave me thoughts and feelings that are so increadibly complex and disturbing and that I have never felt or thought before. That is a testament to how wonderful these novels are. It has been my dream for a very long time to one day adapt all four works to film. If it were to come to fruition, I believe it would be the pinnacle of my life’s work. I may have to get started on that project now. Please, read these books. The imagery of the events that take place within them, I believe, is breathtaking. Each one takes place ten years after the last, and each was written ten years apart. I hope you have anything like the magical experience that I had while reading them.
