Books by John Updike

Elsewhere in the world of fiction, I found the "philosophical" European bestseller The Elegance of the Hedgehog precious and unbearable; I couldn’t get to page 30.  The new John Updike novel, The Widows of Eastwick , has been mostly panned, but I agree instead with this very positive NYT review .

4. Due Considerations: Essays and Criticism , by John Updike.  Scattered essays on just about everything.  Completely apart from his fiction, Updike is simply one of the smartest and most impressive people out there.  It is amazing how many topics he knows so much about and how well he writes about them.