1960 ∙ John Updike ∙ 337 pgs
I’ve avoided reading this classic for years. There is something about committing myself to a whole series of books without knowing what I’m getting myself into that worries me a bit. Now, after reading the first in the series, I’m quite sure that the other books in the Rabbit series are safe from my perusing. This book was beyond depressing. The protagonist, Rabbit, is completely unlikable and unsympathetic. I basically spent the entire book wanting to slap the shit out of him. Maybe this is the point, but I’m not sure. It would be one thing if we understood exactly what it was that made him run time and time again from his life, but we get only the slightest hint about what the hell he’s thinking, and even then his feelings are distant and rather dull. This is basically a story about a guy realizing that the grass is always greener. Duh. Is this worth an entire book? Probably not. Is it entertaining to read? No, not really.
