2017/17 John Updike: Rabbit Run (1960) ****

Having never previously got round to John Updike, this was a late first. It is a novel of details and at its finest the writing seems unique, at least to me: the very early description of Harry, Rabbit Angstrom's encounter with the kids playing basketball is particularly striking. He nails what it must be like to harness the physical and mental skills required to play confidently and well. The descriptions elsewhere are exact and closely observed; uneasy passages relate Harry's discontent with his marriage and inklings that maybe being a high school basketball star is as good as it may be going to get. The blind date in the company of his former coach is pretty queasy and the shocking downfall of his alcoholic wife is tragic and theatrical. The overall sense is of an unusual mind, exploring the norms and constrictions of small town life, with a strong sense of class, the pecking order and the proximity of religion. Episcopalianism comes out of it as spineless do-goodery.