Overview
The capstone volume of the Library of America edition of John Updikeās novels contains some of the master stylist and social observerās most ambitious works.
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In the Beauty of the Lilies (1996) opens in 1910, when Clarence Wilmot, a Presbyterian minister in Paterson, NJ, experiences a devastating loss of faith. This moment of crisis sets in motion an eighty-year, multigenerational saga whose subject is nothing less than the American Century and modernity itself, seen through the fluctuating fortunes of a single representative family.Ā
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In Gertrude and Claudius, Updike boldly imagines the long backstory to the worldās most famous play, prompting readers to revisit and perhaps revise their judgments about Hamletās notorious uncle and mother. Drawing on the twelfth- and fifteenth century sources for Hamlet, but also inventing a new history for Claudius in his far-flung travels across medieval Europe, Updike creates a vivid and surprising origin story for the fabled rottenness in Shakespeareās Denmark.Ā
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The novella Rabbit Remembered (2000) is a poignant final curtain call for one of the greatest characters in twentieth-century American literature. Once again the setting is Brewer, Pennsylvania, but now Harry Angstromās family are figuring out their lives in his absence.Ā Harryās ghost is insistently present, and theĀ stories shared by his children suggestĀ that the reckoning with those closest to us, for better and for worse, never really ends.Ā Ā
None of these books have ever been published in an annotated edition. This deluxe editions includes six rare pieces by Updike reflecting on the novels collected here.
This book title, John Updike: Novels 1996-2000 (LOA #365) (In the Beauty of the Lilies / Gertrude and Claudius / Rabbit Remembered), ISBN: 9781598537444, by John Updike, Christopher Carduff, published by Library of America (February 14, 2023) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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