The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 18 January 1999
It is the day of the summer fair at the poorhouse outside a small New Jersey town. (Perhaps today, we would call this poorhouse (published in 1958) a public home for the aged, or an assisted living facility.) Inspired by an almshouse near his childhood home, Updike created a surprisingly rich tapestry of characters for such a short novel. The inmates of the poorhouse are a wizened bunch of odds and ends from society, feeling discarded and redundant. They await death in an atmosphere of jovial decay. The prefect of the poorhouse, Conner, would like it to be different. In small ways he tries to bring dignity to their lives, while they actually crave the earlier days of his dissipated predecessor. Throughout, there are debates on religion and death, memories of the past, and little recognitions of each person's odd humanity. It is a richly written work, thick with the language. A gem.
Also by Updike:
[Of the Farm]
[The Centaur]
[S.]
[Toward the End of Time]
[Rabbit, Run]
[Rabbit Redux]
[Rabbit is Rich]
[Rabbit at Rest]
[Licks of Love]
[The Witches of Eastwick]
[Just Looking]
[Still Looking]
See also: [Updike, by Adam Begley]