A Dour Depiction of the Times - Rated 
This is the first in a series of four books Updike wrote to document a rather unique view of America in each decade from the Sixties. The writing style makes for very slow reading, the attention to detail is sometimes painful because you will be left waiting for a dialogue to continue while he describes the character's frame of mind and reference. It brings you very close to the characters, often uncomfortably close.
Updike's characters are not cheerleaders and college football hero's. He writes about everyone else, the vast forgotten people who didn't become celebrities and sports stars and who have become cynical if not downright bitter and angry. It's compelling reading but don't look for a happy ending either, nobody learns any lessons or becomes an American hero and if he does acknowledge the American Dream it is only to say "forget about it, it's not for you".
This is hard gritty writing with a scattering of black humour, you'll need to set some time aside to read it, and the three follow ups. I've read the first two and I will start the third once my sensibilities have had a chance to recuperate. I would recommend this book to everyone except cheerleaders and football hero's.
Damned with faint praise - Rated 
This was the choice of my book group. The rest thoroughly enjoyed it but I didn't. It's a humorous story set in '50s America, about a school basketball star now in his 20s, with a dead end job, an alcoholic wife he married because she was pregnant, as so often happened then, who yearns for his glory days. The writing is very good, but I don't like books where the writer seems to be despise all the characters.
A staggering, cynical look at dealing with suburban mediocrity - Rated
Rabbit, Run is an exploration into how a man copes with mediocrity, after being excellent at something. In this case, the Rabbit is Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom, a frustrated 26 year old man, who was once a great basketball player, now stuck in a loveless marriage and a second rate job. Rabbit runs, with devastating consequences.
This is a book which cuts to the quick of the human condition, cynically explores brilliantly the difficulty of simply living an 'un-special' existence, and the breakdown of relationships through that costal erosion effect of gradually falling out of love with your partner.
I can't believe that it took me 33 years to come to John Updike. Reading Rabbit, Run is a real challenge, because as a recently married man, the issues that he so deftly deals with, have some resonance. I think the beauty of his writing, is in his ability to unnervingly hit upon the essence of what makes life so hard to live. Parts of the book are uncomfortable to read, but because they are so well written, you cannot help but tag along for the ride. This is not a book to read if you are looking to cheer yourself up, but if you want to better understand the human condition, I think you could do no better.
a real classic - Rated
this is a real classic of American literature. i read it for my book club and we all agreed that it was brilliantly written and well worth perservering with (it does take a little time to get into). i now want to read the rest of the series and wish i had bought the combined version!
"Rabbit, Run" Review - Rated
This is the first novel in the Rabbit series and before you have even finished it, you will be running to order the complete series.
Set very specifically in 1959 urban America the reader is catapulted into the lives of its seemingly mundane citizens. This is a story that is immediately recognisable. The main theme is the everyday pressure of life and how we choose to relieve it. When the protagonist Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom, a former sports star, decides to up and leave his wife Janice, he sets a tragedy in motion. In his own words, 'If you have the guts to be yourself...other people'll pay your price.'
John Updike uses precise psychological brush strokes to portray his characters. From the toddler Nelson to Rabbit Angstrom and a plethora of characters in between, Updike reveals human nature in all its intricate detail but above all, in a non judgemental manner.
Mediocrity, failure, selfishness, depression, alcoholism, rebellion, religion, love and sex are all laid bare in this brave novel. The ultimate question is should we run and do we have a duty to ourselves to do so?
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