Gesturing: A Selection from the John Updike Audio Collection

by John Updike

The extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful. The texts are taken from his recent omnibus, The Early Stories, 1953-1975.

In describing how he wrote these stories in a small, rented, smoke-filled office in Ipswitch, Massachusetts, he says, "I felt that I was packaging something as delicately pervasive as smoke, one box after another, in that room, where my only duty was to describe reality as it had come to me -- to give the mundane its beautiful due."

Audiobook

First published August 11, 2009

About the author

John Hoyer Updike was an American writer. Updike's most famous work is his Rabbit series (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; and Rabbit Remembered). Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest both won Pulitzer Prizes for Updike. Describing his subject as "the American small town, Protestant middle class," Updike is well known for his careful craftsmanship and prolific writing, having published 22 novels and more than a dozen short story collections as well as poetry, literary criticism and children's books. Hundreds of his stories, reviews, and poems have appeared in The New Yorker since the 1950s. His works often explore sex, faith, and death, and their inter-relationships.

He died of lung cancer at age 76.

Reviews

[Paul Sweeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short is done well, but that is like saying it is perfectly prepared haggas. If you like boiled sheep guts, it is the best innereds you’ll find.

I generally dislike whinny stores of upper middle class folks “struggling” for meaningful relationships and pursuits in the commercialized post modern blah blah.

As these stories go the unimaginative protagonist seeks meaning in abandoning responsibilities, and hedonism. Of course all the characters are really exploring alternative lifestyle choices due to their brilliance and uniqueness. Couldn’t be so gosh as just running away from home and ducking some strange.

Still, I surrender to the authors skill. The guy could be writing stereo instructions and still hold my attention. I can’t say the perspectives were new or the characters were better than stock, but how he makes them dance.

Philosophers are often judged by their ideas independent of their prose. Kant is damn near unreadable ( at least to my feeble mind) but tickles my balls with his ideas. Can a writer be judged the same. On the strength of the writing independent of the ideas.

This is not for me to say.

[Nyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this in the car via the It's Personal Channel on Audible.

An odd and depressing short story of a couple, separated from each other, but both dissatisfied in their extramarital affairs - so they confide in each other despite their own strained relationship.