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Liked It “"Rabbit Redux," I think, is the perfect "generational conflict" novel, a book that pits a blue-collar, gritty, salt-of-the-Earth American man in his late 30s (a bigot, also, to be precise), against the social upheaval of the late 1960s. Rabbit, a decade older since we last saw him in "Rabbit,...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “even better than the first. I was locked in.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Rabbit continues to be a bastard amidst some of the best writing put to paper. If you can get over the unpleasant protagonist, you will enjoy.”
Leif wrote this review Sunday, September 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“"Rabbit Redux," I think, is the perfect "generational conflict" novel, a book that pits a blue-collar, gritty, salt-of-the-Earth American man in his late 30s (a bigot, also, to be precise), against the social upheaval of the late 1960s. Rabbit, a decade older since we last saw him in "Rabbit, Run" (which I found to be boring and dull), now has to contend with the blossoming of the space program (and, as the book opens, man is landing on the moon), the blossoming of the idea of "free love," and the rise of the black power movement.
nholic wrote this review Thursday, September 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The first Rabbit Angstrom novel did not work, I think, because Rabbit really had no antagonist. Updike writes about a discontented working-class white man who leaves his wife. Yawn. Maybe that was BIG NEWS at one point, but I really didn't see the conflict as being very involving. "Rabbit Redux," though, paints Angstrom as a much more tragic figure. The world is changing, shifting beneath his feet, and somehow he is completely caught up within those changes and forced to confront his unaccomplished life.
First, his wife leaves him for a successful immigrant man who disagrees with all of Rabbit's pro-American, pro-Vietnam-War ideas and ideals. Then, he takes in a runaway girl who he tries to love, but who has vastly different ideas about love than he does. Then, he also takes in a Negro named Skeeter, a sort of Malcolm X figure who actually thinks he is the Second Coming, and who forces Rabbit to confront his prejudices, and the bigotry of his upbringing, and the town around him.
In all, it's a fascinating book because there are so many rich generational conflicts. We're no longer just dealing with two white people in their late 20s and early 30s who can't get along; we're delving into a rich social novel where many different age groups and social classes are thrust together and forced to confront one another. Brilliant stuff. It dragged a bit, at times (toward the end, especially, when Rabbit's sister comes to town), but it belongs with Irving's "A Prayer For Owen Meany" as a prototypical generational novel for the Baby Boomers (even if Rabbit Angstrom himself is just a Baby Boomer's parent).”
“I liked this the best of the Harry Angstrom stories I've read -- as always with Updike, I was rather repelled by the way he writes but also wanted to know what happened next. ”
Eileen M wrote this review Tuesday, July 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“even better than the first. I was locked in.”
Brandon G wrote this review Thursday, July 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I liked the first book in the Rabbit series, but this one is even better. The characters have evolved and are more complex, the plot is rivetting, and the way it is written is less grammatically-confusing. This is a stand-alone book; however, I think it is more interesting to read Rabbit, Run first.”
Kate F wrote this review Tuesday, May 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“A good sequel to RR- I liked this book a lot. My one negative is that the chapter on Skeeter talking about black power, viet nam and race relations is way too long. Updike made a mistake here. Overall though, a great book that left me wanting to read the remaining two in the series.”
Brian w wrote this review Monday, April 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I am biased. I hate the 60s - the music and clothes all pathetic, as well as the hippy speak. So I found whole chunks of this book very hard to read and digest. The stuff blubbing from Skeeter's mouth about the black struggle was too long and too dull. I skimmed most of that. It went on and on - endless paragraphs of print dedicated to "right on" rants.
mister p wrote this review Thursday, January 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
And as for Rabbit being an "anti-hero" - well the guy is almost sociopathic. He feels little. Nothing much touches him - one of life's sleep walkers. A hero of what exactly?
Didn't like this book much, partly because it tried to encapsulate a decade that is laughed at now and mocked for its naivity; and for the fact that it laid the roots of most of our present societal problems.
The balance was all wrong. ”“Updkie hates women”
Julian G wrote this review Thursday, November 15 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Ugh.”
rickberliner wrote this review Monday, August 13 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Updike is one of the most important writers of the 20th century. In this second book of a four book series, Updike details the deadbeat middle-aging main character Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom in his miseries dealing with racism and his relationship with his son. Racist and fun!”
SanFrancisco wrote this review Friday, October 13 2006. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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