Reviewing Rabbit at Rest, Joyce Carol Oates called it a hugely ambitious achievement and critic Thomas Disch proclaimed, it to be the best large-scale literary work by an American in this century, thus the Great American Novel. and claudius summary analysis studysmarter biography of john updike american author thoughtco gertrude and claudius gertrude finds true love in updike s. The saga, for critic Ralph Wood showed Updike as our finest literary celebrant both of human ambiguity and the human acceptance of it. Edwards found that Rabbit Is Rich is composed of meditations on religion, politics, and economics, with motifs intertwined. A later critic, Irina Negrea adopted the Jean Baudrillard to critique Marshall McLuhan's optimistic vision of the global village. Updike's sequel, Rabbit Redux, showed how, for reviewer Richard Locke the inner surface of banal experiences could be blended seamlessly to social unrest and war. Scholarly essays debated whether Rabbit was a satiric figure. The first reviews of Rabbit, Run noted Updike's ability to redeem an ex-basketball player's ordinary life through brilliant, innovative style.

These responses to the saga reveal the reception of each installment of the saga and how critical acclamation rose with each.

There is dual purpose of this collection of critical responses: first, to provide a historical view of the critical reception of all of Updike's works about Harry Rabbit Angstrom-the four Rabbit novels and the novella Rabbit Remembered and second, to show how these reviews and articles can illuminate the reader with the range of approaches to the saga. Twenty-seven critics, as well as Updike himself, provide a kaleidoscopic view of the Rabbit Angstrom saga in 34 reviews and essays. Num Pages: 326 pages, black & white illustrations. Offers an in-depth exploration of John Updike's Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom saga through critical literary responses.

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