Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel, 'Rabbit Remembered'

Rabbit Angstrom #5

by John Updike

Collected with a dozen wonderful stories, all set in classic Updike territory, the short novel 'Rabbit Remembered' is a major work in its own right - a riveting return to Updike's most celebrated fictional world. Janice and Nelson Angstrom, plus several other survivors of the irreducible Rabbit, fitfully entertain his memory while pursuing their own happiness over the edge of the millennium, as a number of old strands come together in entirely unexpected ways.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, American, Contemporary, Classics, Literature, Literary Fiction

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 7, 2000

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

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection, published in 2000, is a mixed bag.

For those who admire John Updike's writing (particularly his short stories) and for completists of the Rabbit Angstrom series, this is a must-read. But be warned, it's pretty uneven.

This volume contains twelve short stories, followed by novella Rabbit Remembered, the coda to Updike's famous tetralogy. Some might argue it's an unnecessary coda, since Rabbit At Rest ends with deathly finality. Let's face it, if the big, misbehaving, ex-basketball player ain't around, what's the point?

Good question. Well, if you were waiting with bated breath to know what became of Janice, Pru, and Nelson in the years following old Harry's demise, I guess you're in luck. If you're hankering for several lengthy, descriptive, nostalgic drives through small town Brewer, you've struck the jackpot. If you ever wondered if Rabbit produced a love-child during his three month affair with Ruth back in book 1, you'll get your answer.

I'm an ardent fan of John Updike's, but this novella didn't do much for me. I found myself wishing for the past, not the flat, uninteresting present in which people I don't care for argue about Bill Clinton over Thanksgiving dinner. I missed Rabbit and his uncontrollable, inappropriate erections. I longed to see him grabbing a handful of roasted cashews on the sly, while Janice and her mother snipe in the kitchen, and Nelson, high on cocaine, braids his rat tail in the bathroom. The rat tail! This story actually made me long for Nelson's ugly, obnoxious rat tail.

I mean, it's John Updike, so no matter what, it's ten times better than anyone else on any given day, but when you're pining for a rat tail, you know you're in trouble.

The real gold in this collection is found in a few brilliant short stories that precede the novella. Half of the dozen stood out to me as gorgeous, trademark Updike, and delivered the comfort of meeting and even exceeding expectations:

'New York Girl' - a married man's affair in the big city told with typical Updike-ian frankness, a window into a fragile, fleeting, but important time

'My Father on the Verge of Disgrace' - a young boy in fear of his father's social destruction, realizes that being alive means always being on the verge of disgrace

'The Cats' - after his mother's death, an only son has to deal with her country house and hoards of feral felines

'His Oeuvre' - Henry Bech, on a book tour, sees a woman he has slept with in the audience at each reading

'How Was It, Really?' - an older man looks back, finding it hard to remember the once-important details of raising his children, and realizes his energy had been driven towards the next best moment, rather than the present

'Metamorphosis' - an aging man becomes determined to get plastic surgery, under a younger woman's knife

Those six stories make the collection worthwhile. That, and the naughty title. Oh, that incorrigible, brilliant man.

[Jay Schutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 overall

4****
The first part of this review is for the first half of the book which consisted of twelve short stories. Mostly about love, relationships and sex which is an ongoing theme for the author.
They were all very good, but some ended in a way that left you guessing which leaves the rest up to your interpretation.

5*****
The second part of this review is devoted to the second half of the book - a novella that concludes the Rabbit Angstrom series.
What an amazing ride this has been!
I started my journey through the Rabbit Angstrom series with book one - Rabbit, Run - which ended in a cliffhanger. Of course, I couldn't stop there and read straight through to this final book in the series - Rabbit Remembered. It ties up all the loose ends very neatly.
Updike's writing and storytelling abilities are incredible. He seems so under-rated compared to other writers and unduly so, in my opinion.
If you are looking for an adult read that has a lot to offer, I highly recommend searching out the five books of this series. I can't say enough.

[brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

People talk about the Rabbit tetralogy and they rarely acknowledge the fifth coda of a novella, included in this collection. It's called Rabbit, Remembered, and it isn't. This is because it's totally unnecessary. It's not bad, it's just irrelevant.

It picks up about a decade after Rabbit's death, and here come some spoilers for this and previous Rabbit books. Janice has married Ronnie Harrison, Rabbit's old frenemy and the widow of his end-of-life affair, Thelma, she of the golden showers. Nelson is ensconced in his mundane life as a counselor for the mentally ill. He's estranged from his wife Pru, she of the bizarre Rabbit pity fuck. Annabelle finally confirms that she's his half-sister by Rabbit's fling from the first book, Ruth. Over the course of the book Nelson will tentatively reunite with Pru, Annabelle will reveal that she was sexually abused by her stepfather - this plays no role in the story and I don't know why it's here - and Ronnie will continue to be an unmitigated dickhole.

Updike revisits some of his favorite themes here: oblique references to incestual longing that he likes to drop and then skitter away from, and self-conscious references to contemporary events. (We're in the last days of the 1900s, and "Now the bitch is going to run" says one woman about First Lady Hillary Clinton.) The sex is mostly missing, which of course is sortof a relief since Updike's sex is mostly uncomfortable.

Nelson continues to be basically unpleasant. He's a good character: he means well and he tries, but he is not much of a person. He's small, like Rabbit was, but in a different way; he lacks Rabbit's grudging charisma.

Updike has a talent for seeing these small, unsuccessful people. He lived in Beverly, Massachusetts, where I went to high school and fled as quickly as possible, so I know first-hand that he had plenty of sources to draw on. That's a town of rabbits. It has nothing very interesting to offer, and neither does this book.

[Vonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess. I only read "Rabbit, Remembered". Maybe I will read the other stories in a little while. Perfect last line, by the way.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brilliant finish to the Rabbit Angstrom series with typically melancholy prose, vivid characters, gentle reminders of the 4 previous books and even - no, really? - a happy end. The other short stories are also great. It is amazing how in a few short pages, Updike breathes so much life into his characters.

[Brian Fagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever heard of a drugstore rental book? I hadn't. It's mentioned in John Updike's "Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel, 'Rabbit Remembered'". The story that mentioned the rental book took place in 1964, so perhaps some drugstores rented books at that time - maybe they had books that libraries didn't carry. This collection was published in 2000, and includes 12 new short stories and the novella "Rabbit Remembered". The short stories all take place in earlier decades of the various narrators' lives, so it is a collection of imagined reminiscences. Updike tried to disguise the meaning of the title phrase "Licks of Love" by having the protagonist of the title story be a banjo picker, but, once read, the title is understood differently, and more typically Updikean. My favorite was "New York Girl", but Updike's writing is consistently appealing and intriguing throughout.

In "Rabbit Remembered", Updike revisits the families of his most famous protagonist, Rabbit (Harry) Angstrom. Although the novel "Couples" is my favorite Updike, the four Rabbit Angstrom books cemented Updike's reputation in the literary world. They were published in 1960, 1971, 1981 and 1990. Rabbit is long since dead, and this story initially involves his ex-wife and her husband and Rabbit's son Nelson. They are visited by a woman who claims to be Rabbit's daughter by another mother, and the story moves on from there. Updike allows the characters to describe moments and people in their pasts, mostly those who revolved around Rabbit Angstrom. For some reason he marks time throughout with all of the bad news in the headlines of the 90's.

It has been about 15 years since I read "Rabbit at Rest", the final Rabbit Angstrom novel, and before I read this novella I paused to try to regather my impressions of Rabbit's persona. Accurate or not, the three words that most came to mind were "futility", "depression" and "boredom". When I then went to the John Updike article on Wikipedia to see what Rabbit's legacy was in their view, I saw that my memory was, if not thouroughly descriptive, at least on the right track.

I love Updike because he seemed to take incredible care with his writing, and to have believed that style still mattered. Of writers I read regularly, with the possible exception of Joyce Carol Oates, none produced novels that I read with such a slow and savoring pace, not to miss the details and nuances.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having never read the Rabbit series, I only have this one novella to go on, but the entire collection was wonderful. In the spirit of Irving, there's an East Coast "vibe," even when the stories deviate or rely on other aspects to full them along. In the end there's always the smell of fall leaves and changing seasons. Wet boots on hardwood and dirty blankets to catch the slush. You can't extract the East from Updike's stories.
In a world of new books, I can say there's something about a handful of authors that are now getting to be writers I associate with my parents. Irving, Updike, Vonnegut--the dusty paper backs with bright orange colors and no sheen, books from the 1970s I like to imagine my mom and dad passed back and forth before suggesting them to friends when people still came over and drank and played cards, listened to records and used fondue pots.
Of course, as an "adult" myself, these days, I also find Updike's "reluctant" adults enticing. Most are married and parents, though their children take a sort of Great Gatsby-style backseat, and you find yourself with only a sketchy outline of what you think they might look like, their dark eyes and skin-tones.
Updike, though it's sad, talks about first spouses in a similar fashion--as though their staying power is never really expected. Marriages don't last, at least not the first ones, but sometimes the second one. I found myself wistfully thinking if my own relationship would be similar some day--something I think of in the same way I now remember New York or being 24, a past, comfortable thing that maybe I didn't give enough of a shot, full of errors and the unknown, but also fun in a way nothing can ever be again.
I do marvel at his detachment, as a narrator and storyteller, and I appreciate his carefulness in depciting women and their points of view (something Irving ought to try...). You can tell Updike isn't entirely comfortable in jumping inside their heads, and his male characters are never far behind, an easy, ready escape.
Among my favorite stories were, of course, The Cats--because I love cats and always love stories about them--but this one, with it's death undertones and sadness--the idea of our parents expectations for us, and how final their ideas of the people their chidren are can truly be--had a lot going for it. The desolation of the farm house, the weight of family on who we are and what we can be, and how easy it can feel to run away from responsiblity were all so intense, I'm not sure I'd have liked it to be any more than the short story it was.
And, of course the family ties and roots, free associatings in Rabbit Remembered were appealing as well. I especially enjoyed talking to my dad about the series, getting his views on reading them as a younger man--I guess, East Coast or wistful, at the heart of it Updike is family. Who can't relate to that?

[Dario Andrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do livro, só li a novela ou breve romance que dá uma conclusão à história da família Angstrom. Assim, não li os contos que compõem a primeira metade da obra.
Caso queira continuar a leitura, saiba que há spoilers. Acho que essa novela, *Coelho se cala*, só é lida por quem percorreu os quatro livros anteriores.
Foi uma longa jornada até aqui. Ao longo do ano passado, li os quatro primeiros romances da série. Com a morte de Harry "Coelho" Angstrom ao final do quarto livro, parecia que a história havia se encerrado.
Updike, no entanto, oferece uma espécie de epílogo. Como nas outras obras, há um intervalo de dez anos em relação ao livro anterior. Aqui, o ano é 1999: fim do milênio, medo do bug e outras inquietações.
No início, o protagonismo é de Janice, esposa de Harry. Surpreendentemente, ela se casou com Ronnie Harrison, marido da (também) falecida amante de Harry. Ronnie era, ainda, o detestado amigo/adversário do falecido.
Janice sente a chegada da velhice. Pouco a pouco, vai perdendo a vitalidade e se depara com o choque da aparição da filha perdida de Harry. A mãe dela vivera com ele por uns três meses no longínquo 1959 e, antes de morrer, contou à filha que seu verdadeiro pai era Coelho. A moça, Annabelle, procura então as pessoas que tiveram alguma ligação com ele.
A chegada de Annabelle serve também para que Updike transfira o protagonismo de Janice para Nelson. Agora, aos 43 anos, ele vive com a mãe e Ronnie. Sua mulher pediu o divórcio e levou os filhos para Ohio.
Nelson trabalha como assistente social. Parece feliz no trabalho, parece ser bom no que faz e gostar disso. A chegada de Annabelle representa, para ele, um alívio, preenchendo, de alguma forma, o vazio que sente desde a morte da irmã bebê, também em 1959.
A vida de Nelson está em um momento de crise: foi abandonado pela mulher e mora com a mãe e o padrasto. O trabalho parece ser seu refúgio, mas ali também enfrenta dificuldades, especialmente com um paciente com quem sente proximidade, mas que talvez saiba ser incapaz de ajudar.
Há muitas lembranças de Harry, muita exposição de seus problemas, mas também muito afeto. De certa maneira, parece que Nelson finalmente está amadurecendo. Ele protege Annabelle no catastrófico almoço de Ação de Graças, uma primeira catarse que o leva a sair de casa.
Há uma segunda grande catarse quando ele, Pru (sua ex-mulher), o amigo Billy e Annabelle voltam de um jantar e de uma ida ao cinema. Estão os quatro no carro, com Nelson ao volante. Ele provoca a irmã para que confesse algumas experiências íntimas e violências que sofreu do padrasto. Isso a liberta e a aproxima de Billy. É uma sessão de psicoterapia improvisada no carro, que também reaproxima Nelson de Pru.
O livro termina com Nelson se reconciliando com a ex-mulher. Ele deixa a cidade e o emprego para se reunir a ela em Ohio. Ao mesmo tempo, Pru e Billy ficam juntos. Antes disso, Nelson já havia conversado por telefone com Ronnie, e ambos parecem ter acertado os ponteiros. Aliás, Janice e Ronnie devem se mudar de vez para a Flórida.
Na ligação telefônica que encerra o livro, Annabelle pergunta se, caso se casasse com Billy, Nelson a levaria ao altar. Ele responde que sim.
Ao final do livro, parece que cada um — e, principalmente, Nelson — encontrou paz suficiente para seguir com a vida. Um belo desfecho para a saga dos Angstrom. Já sinto falta deles.

“Uma das características simpáticas das pessoas disfuncionais é que elas não guardam rancor” (249)
“Em apenas dez anos, o tempo transformou aquele homem espetacular em pó” (262)
“...a vida, de modo geral, é uma lengalenga” (321)

[Andrew]

A thoroughly uneven short story collection concluding with a thoroughly uneven coda on Rabbit Angstrom's long life, told through his no longer a ne'er-do-well son. But I think I’m mostly satisfied here, despite some slow bits and some of that trademark awful Updike sexual description. It is also deeply strange to hear Updike talk about the malaises of what I think of as the present world, whereas I think of Updikeland as having permanently closed somewhere around 1990.

[Old Man JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly interesting collection of twelve short stories and a novella. Many of the short stories were based around some of his earlier books and the novella is based on his Rabbit books. Like the huge number of books he produced in his lifetime they ranged from excellent to poor, although none of the stories were, what I would consider, outstanding. My favorite of the short stories were: The Cats, a story about a man who has inherited his mothers farm after her death and the hundreds of cats that are on the property. This book appeared to be based on Of the Farm, another story based on Bech: A Book, was Oeuvre that featured Henry Bech on a book tour meeting a former lover and the third story I liked was Metamorphosis about an old man who continues to get plastic surgery from a young female doctor. The novella was titled Rabbit Remembered and was, basically, a revisiting of many of the characters from his Rabbit books. It included some of the many women from his various sexual encounters including a daughter from his affair with Ruth and also an update on members of his family.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finishing the last novel in Updike's "Rabbit" series, I was a little sad to see the story end, to say good-bye to Rabbit Angstrom. So admittedly, I experienced a feeling of sweet self-indulgence when I discovered the "Rabbit Remembered" sequel at the back of this collection of stories. Or maybe it was more "bittersweet," sort of like reconnecting with an old boyfriend/girlfriend after many years, the excitement and warmth of re-establishing that intimate connection and re-living past highs and lows nestled alongside the naked truth that your story is over, the magic you remember as elusive as, well, a rabbit running through a field of tall grass. The narrative picks up ten years after Harry's death and rests now with both Janice and Nelson as they carry on their lives without their husband and father. Where in Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest, it seemed that Updike's descriptive powers were at their best, generating for the reader such an intimate connection to the fictional setting of the book, the pure observation and a beautiful, symbolic way of expressing it, in the sequel, Updike tries to carry the torch but seems to have run out of juice. Passages decribing the weather or the old town of Brewer just don't carry the same significance not seen through Harry's eyes, and the text has lost some punch. I'm not sure I thoroughly buy all the scenarious he lays out for us here -- like Janice having married Ronnie Harrison, Harry's daughter Annabelle emerging from secrecy after Ruth dies, her having been sexually abused as a child by her adopted father, etc. -- but I guess it's comforting to see things end on a little more of an up-note than at the end of the fourth novel. Now I'm ready to put this story to bed.

[Patrick Barritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for the Rabbit sequel but first you have to plow through several short stories. all the stories were fine but did not really interest me as it takes a while for me to buy into characters . Very much enjoyed the Rabbit sequel in which he is long dead but in a ghostly sort of way is still the centre of the story. I really enjoy the descriptive style of the author especially the detail on the seemingly insignificant or mundane which set scenes so effectively in my mind . A bit like observational comedy where you just go along for the ride and its still funny because of the recognition not the joke.
I read the Rabbit novels perhaps 30 years ago in a three book edition and then maybe five years later again in a four book edition. I think I would recommend starting at the beginning rather than reading the final book on its own merits. It is certainly no hardship! They start with Rabbit's story in the 1950's then each decade to his death and the current book finishes at the millennium so it makes sense to read them in order. It is from my parent's generation so I also have that angle to it and its nice to be reminded of them . I can lend to you Beth if you like.

[Joel Lacivita · Rating 4 out of 5]

These comments are in regard to the novel "Rabbit Remembered" that is part of this short story collection.

Updike was 68 when he penned this final story in the Rabbit Run saga. It mainly follows his wife and son as they deal with life without Rabbit. There is also some development of his daughter, Annabelle.

The story is expertly written, much like anything by Updike, and he adds closure to the arc of the characters and denouement. The novella is filled with more keen insight into the human condition, although without Harry's thoughts, it does lose some of it's edge. The resolution at the end is a bit on the soft side, compared to all the previous books in the series, but it was a nice ending to the story. It makes me wonder what all the characters would be up to now after another 19 years have passed.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading more about Updike's Angstrom family (and their connected web of families). A real treat to be back in that fictional world after completing the Rabbit series earlier this year. What an extraordinary gift Updike had, to be able to pinpoint the wide spectrum of human existence so clearly in his writing. Definitely an author that warrants a deep dive into their other works.

[Μαρία Δριμή · Rating 2 out of 5]

Μου φάνηκαν φλύαρα και επίπεδα με επαναλαμβανόμενα μοτίβα. Προτιμώ τα μεγάλα του κείμενα, την καθηλωτική μυθοπλασία του "Λαγού". Η μικρή φόρμα θέλει τον Κάρβερ της.

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look at how many women I've slept with!!
-summary of most stories in Licks of Love-

[Mon · Rating 4 out of 5]

bought this at the pickle bookstore in LES only to discover it had mold on it. i threw it out before i got a chance to read it, but sunny surprised me with a new copy!

[Chris Gager · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've already read half of it via the novelette at the end: "Rabbit Remembered" now I'll read the stories that preceded it.

"The Women Who Got Away"... A subject many men are fond of. Heh-heh. This one's a bit of a bore as it focuses on middle-class infidelity, a boring topic to me. Updike is semi-obsessed with sex and women. The ending's a hoot, though. JU did a number of looking back/re-visiting stories as he got older.

"Lunch Hour"... I read a similar story in the NY'er. Maybe this one but I don't think so. Same general drift: a guys goes back to his home town(Olinger) many years later for a H.S. reunion. Short and sweet remembrance of a unique female friend.

"New York Girl"... back to middle-class infidelity as Updike gives us a sneaky cheater and asks if we like him or not(me no like). Reminded of me of R. Ford's long story "The Womanizer". The voice of this salesman of extruded aluminum was inauthentic... too much Updike in his usage of words like "parabaloids", "plangent" and "ruck". Also a looking back story. Maybe that's the theme here?

"My Father on the Verge of Disgrace" and "Cats" - JU takes a breather here from adultery for one story each for Mom and Dad. Both are moving reminiscences and lessons on the theme of "things change". One quibble... doesn't anyone in the family object to the gun solution to the cat problem?

"Oliver's Evolution" - Short and sweet.

"Natural Color" - And now back to grownups behaving badly... sex-wise. A definite cousin to the "Rabbit" books with its red-haired other woman. Maggie's a combo of Ruth and Thelma.

"Licks of Love in the Heart of the Cold War" - JU tries to stretch into a character further from his usual Pennsylvania and New England easterners. Pete Seeger is referenced here and I'd but a half hour before been reading an obit! This variation on Updike's neverendingstory of adultery seems kind of harsh. The guy's both creepy and charming. Guys look for sex and women look for love... plus the opposite!

"His Oeuvre" - More about the affairs of married folk and the recollecting of things past. I rode the train from NYC to California once(1962) and again round trip from Boston in 2004(?). No sex!

"How Was It Really?" - Yet another look back that combines adultery with something like family nostalgia. I barely remember it. I HAVE to think that the whole topic of infidelity must've meant more to Updike than most of us because he was prone to doing "it".

"Scenes from the Fifties" - A story with that familiar short story kicker at the end. Like the first story... a "gay" ending!

"Metamorphosis" - Certainly the weirdest of the stories. Did JU indulge in some nipping and tucking over those senior years?

Overall these stories were not highly impactful to me. The reminiscences of serial philanderers is off-putting to me as it smacks of relentless immaturity and obsession with sex and romance - an addiction for some people. But the final "story" is a winner and it's always a pleasure to read Updike. The 4* "Rabbit" finale is half the book so... 3.75* rounds up to 4*

[Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Updike is still the grand master of describing the landscapes of American middle class' life, he gives you the every aspect of this middle class' existence. Whenever I read Updike's stories, a sense of American-ness always hits me right in the face, I like how I am able to see the American landscapes and its people through his writing.

But I found it weird that according to Updike's writing, middle class American men spent most of their time to: (a)think about their past sexual affairs with different women, (b) think about their current sexual affairs with women (many of them being extra material affairs), (c)think about how to get hook up with/sleep with the women of their desire.

Yes, Mr. Updike seems not able to get tired of writing about extra material affairs in his stories. *laughs*

Furthermore, hardly any of the short story leaves a lasting impression on me, saves for the last story: "Rabbit Remembered". I have never read anything from the famous Rabbit series, but after reading Rabbit Remembered, now I feel very fond of Harry (aka 'Rabbit') and I want to know more about him! And guess what, in Rabbit Remembered, Harry is 10 years dead and he's only being mentioned by his widow, children, friends and foes!^_^

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A triumphant late collection of stories by Updike, and a novella length addition to the Rabbit tetralogy, Rabbit Remembered. The stories cover many familiar Updike themes and some revisit aspects of his own life already related in earlier novels; The Cats is a late life reflection on the early novel Of the Farm, there is another addition to the canon of stories featuring the self-centred writer Henry Bech, and Licks of Love in the Heart of the Cold War is a picaresque Cold War odyssey in which a banjo player finds himself on an adulterous cultural tour of the Soviet Union in the mid-sixties. I approached Rabbit Remembered with trepidation, the Rabbit series having come to such an effective and satisfying conclusion in Rabbit at Rest, but I need not have worried. It is a beautifully observed coda to the series, set at the turn of the millennium, and revisiting Harry Angstrom's family and friends nearly ten years after his death. There are surprises in store; characters who seemed beyond hope are now muddling through and doing good things, and life goes on. Rabbit's legacy, like his messy, mixed up, but fundamentally good life, is complicated, but largely positive.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read this collection probably a decade ago. A few appeared in the Collection of Updikes later stories which I had read as well. Updike is considered a little problematic in today’s world, some of the inherent chauvinism of his writing of the fifties and sixties becomes more apparent but, that said, he is at the same time a writer in the upper echelon.

This collection is filled to the brim with nostalgia. There may be few who can write of the sense of memory better than Updike. These characters go to class reunions as senior citizens and remember the smell of wet jackets and a steamy, humid, lunchroom. This is just one example of how easily he can evince the feelings and thoughts of you, the readers youth through his words and descriptions.

In “ The Woman Who Got Away “ we visit Pierce Junction, New Hampshire. Martin and Jeane, their affairs and relationships, a version of perhaps Peyton Place in an Updike world. Eventually they divorce and Martin remarries but the meat of this story is pure nostalgia of youth and those we grow up with.

David Kern is returning to Pennsylvania for a forty something high school reunion in “ Lunchroom. “ He remembers “ They were all over sixty, they had graduated forty-five years ago…. Yet all around him, thru a mist of gray hair and wrinkles and body fat, David saw children’s faces, rising essentially unchanged up through the grades. “ This story ties back to Updike’s Olinger stories which might be as autobiographical as any he wrote. David Kern, like Updike left the small city he grew up in to go live in the country outside of town in a farmhouse that had previously belonged to his Mothers family. Updike visits a long discourse on how after decades away from school often people return in roles unexpected. Wallflowers now poised and happy, while the “ queens of the class had succumbed to a lopsided overdevelopment of the qualities —bustiness, peppiness, recklessness, a cunning chiseled hardness — that had made them spectacular. Another heavily nostalgic story.

“ New York Girl “ follows a man, married with two children from Buffalo who recalls his midlife affair with a single mother who works in an art shop in New York City. In an attitude of mid century morality he does not wish to leave his wife, hurt his kids, he just as he says “ wants to extract a bit more happiness.” Late in the story, fifteen years later, he bumps into her unexpectedly in his hometown Buffalo. She is now married and seemingly happy and he does not know how to react, she says “ Don’t say a thing, sweetie. Be happy for me is all you have to do.”

“ My Father on the Verge of Disgrace” is another visit thru nostalgia of the narrator ( or the author’s ) life. He describes his Father, a teacher at the high school while he was a young boy. He also again has his character move from the town to the country outside as he gets into high school, this deepens his relationship with his father as they now must commute together.

In “ The Cats “ a man has to deal with his Mother’s property when she dies. He has no interest in moving back to the small town the old farm was in, but he must deal with the many tens of semi wild cats that she had been allowing to breed in the barn and keeping happy by feeding them cases of cat food.

In “ Natural Color “ Updike again visits the subject of long ago adulterous behavior rearing it’s ugly head. Frank sees a young woman named Maggie unexpectedly one day. They had an affair long ago but now he lives in another town. After he hides to keep away from her he comes home to have his wife inform him she too ran into this potential home wrecker from their past. His guilt for his actions, and fond memories of the physical lead to another unpleasant conversation long after they hoped the subject was gone forever.

“ Licks of Love in the Heart of the Cold War “ follows our narrator as he travels as a cultural ambassador in Russia in 1964. Playing banjo he interacts with many Russians. Of course at the same time he is dealing with a young woman he had a one night fling with on his way out of the states who now seems to think they will be married on his return. This story also features some of Updike’s incredibly icky descriptions of sex. Just squirmy.

We get a Henry Bech story, “ His Oeuvre” in which we follow him on a book tour where he mostly seems to run into women from his past and we are treated to some of his memories of their times together.

In “ How Was It, Really “ we have another sixty something reflecting on his life. Now married to his second wife for twenty two years, and happily, he remembers his first marriage, raising his kids and such. Now his kids have kids and want to know what it was like when they were young. He knows he did not as much as he should have, he would call it “ benign neglect “, but his sons ask him so many questions they “ half persuaded him that he had been an epic family man. Now his memories of those years is all but gone, “ the lack of recall almost frightened him.” Another story reeking of nostalgia.

“ Scenes From the Fifties” follows a man on a business trip in the city to his return by train to Boston. His wife, originally from Boston is thrilled with their move back to Boston, he less so. Later we see them decades later and life has changed, a lot

After fifty years of too much sun a man in “ Metamorphosis “ has to deal with skin cancers on his face and tear ducts and becomes enamored by his surgeon.

And then in the real highlight for longtime Updike readers we get “ Rabbit Remembered.” In a postscript to the tetralogy for which he will always be best remembered we visit Rabbit Angstrom’s family ten years later. Janice has married Ronnie Harrison, both the surviving spouse in their relationship. Nelson and Pru are separated, with the dealership long gone Nelson is now a mental health counselor and much better at it than an earlier itineration might have shown likely.

The main plot point of this story is the return of Harry’s long lost daughter, Annabelle Leonard. As those who read the four books they know that Ruth Leonard, Annabelle’s Mother was the woman that Harry had “ shacked up “ with “ that fateful summer. Her return is hurtful to Janice, suspicious to Ronnie and a happy thought for Nelson who loves the idea of a sister, of “ more family.”

This is a very strong story and an important addendum to this fabled series.

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I selected this from the library's shelves mainly for Rabbit Remembered

And what's he remembered for? Why, being Rabbit, of course. Rabbit when running, Rabbit when resting... and still messing with poor Nelson and Janice from beyond the grave. At least it all ends happily. Updike seems to express sincere affection for the Angstrom family in all their glorious fuckuppedness.

Also, oddly, for a short novel published in 2000, it seems to be on a psychic wavelength with post-9/11 fear, worry. Reading about Y2K these days, the nailbiting over Millenial Bugs and Blackouts and Whatnot is...it's...it seems like that whole medial-blitz bag-of-tricks was just a psychological dry-run for the Threat Levels and Etcetera of the coming decade.

On a lighter note, Updike betrays more knowledge of Galaxy Quest than you'd suspect from a writer of his caliber.


The other short stories here are all pretty good - if you read one every few days you can kind of forgive the samenesses.

[Antonio Papadourakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

12 διηγήματα και 1 νουβέλα (Ας ξαναθυμηθούμε το Λαγό) που είναι και το καλύτερο.
"Ήταν όμως χαρούμενος που βρισκόταν ξανά σε μια παλιοπαρέα, που και που, βγαίνοντας έξω στον κόσμο, έπαιρνε μαζί του για λάφυρο την περηφάνια του μέλους, της αποδοχής. "
"Οι περισσότεροι από τους καλλιτέχνες δεν αντέχουν καν τις κορνίζες, λένε πως είναι παγίδες για το μυαλό. Θέλουν τα έργα τους να δείχνουν αυθόρμητα και μισούν τον τετραγωνισμό γενικώς. Εμείς όμως πιστεύουμε ότι οι πελάτες νιώθουν πιό εφησυχασμένοι όταν υπάρχει κορνίζα. Έτσι έχουν την αίσθηση ότι το έργο είναι τελειωμένο, κι ότι δεν έγινε τυχαία από τον καλλιτέχνη. "
"Κοντά της ένιωσα το θανάσιμο φόβο που νιώθει ένας άντρας απέναντι σε μια γυναίκα που κάποτε του πρόσφερε τον εαυτό της, μα τώρα πια δεν είναι διαθέσιμη."
"Η απιστία, σκέφθηκε, διευρύνει τον ερωτικό ορίζοντα ενός ζευγαριού στην αρχή, αλλά τον αποδυναμώνει και τον φθείρει στο τέλος. Είναι σαν τα ψυχεδελικά φάρμακα, καταστρέφει τα κύτταρα."

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very surprised (and relieved, in a way) to discover this book after finishing what I thought was the last of the Rabbit series. I enjoyed reading what was left of his legacy from the female perspectives that were so overshadowed by his presence (and narration) while he was alive--but I missed him--because part of what made the previous books so great was being so close to his voice. It wasn't really nessessary for Updike to go back in to this world and demystify Nelson, Janice, ect., but I appreciated the effort as a fan. I did enjoy Updike's commentary on 90's pop-culture coming through, at least from an archival perspective.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an absolute mixed bag. There are some superb pieces in here. Stories like "The Cats" are beautifully observed and moving. However, there's a persistent misogny that make for difficult reading. Many of these stories feel like the boastings of a man about his partners who doesn't like or want to understand women. The Rabbit Remembered Novella only makes sense in the context of the Rabbit books. Overall, that's a thumbs down then!

[Vivienne Strauss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved most of the short stories but Rabbit Remembered was my favorite. I read all 4 of the Rabbit novels several years ago and didn't want them to end. It was great finding out what happened to everyone ten years later. Updike, much like Richard Yates, writes about the weakness and sadness that is prevalent in all us humans.

[Jon Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brings a nearly-seven-year personal journey with Rabbit Angstrom to a close. I followed him from age 26, in 1959, to ten years after his death, in 1999.

You may be thinking: should I read five books about a white, washed-up American antihero? I think you should. Updike is a master of the craft.

[Marcleitson Leitson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because of the the last of the stories in the book...."Rabbit Remembered". I read the "Rabbit" series years ago and will always be amongst my favorites. I was hesitant that I would recall the characters or that it might seem dated. Has not been a disappointment in the least.

[Kevin Hinman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not going to take the time to go into any detail on the stories in Licks of Love that aren't "Rabbit Remembered," because in all honesty, the other stories here are merely appendages to this final moment in the Angstrom universe. Yes, here we are, back again. And when it's all said and done? Well, it's certainly an accomplishment, four and a half novels spanning five decades, the invented Brewer and Mt. Judge, Pennsylvania as real as any place you could actually drive through, filled with characters who lived and loved and struggled and died. The problem is, none of these characters have ever been particularly pleasant to read about, and nowhere is this more evident than in the series' final chapter.

Sure, there is a certain enjoyment in simply being back in Mt. Judge, inside the Springer house, or on one of the main roads, cruising past the movie theater and the Laid Back and the old Toyota lot. So much of the delight in the Rabbit books is the comfort of these cruises, the long drives and ruminative walks, the sentences with six adjectives to every noun. These are the moments I can truly connect with Updike's vision. Once you get right down to it though, past the familiarity of place, and the often beautiful prose, "Rabbit Remembered" is another rather sad glimpse into the myopic worldview of a writer who has stopped growing.

First off, without Rabbit, the protagonist duties are handed down (after a bit of first chapter confusion where maybe Janice is the lead?) to his shit-bird son, Nelson. When I think about the character Nelson, the words that immediately come to my head are "gross" and "no thanks." Does Updike agree? Is the point of the Rabbit series that the Angstroms are all horrible creatures, and that no one can change, and Nelson is doomed to live in his parent's awful, bigoted footsteps until his heart, too, gives out? Worse, maybe I'm supposed to actually like Nelson. Perhaps, I'm supposed to find it endearing, and not totally disgusting, when Nelson fondly remembers "the split bun" between his daughter's legs. Or, maybe, as readers, we are supposed to identify with Rabbit's daughter (and Nelson's half-sister) Annabelle, as she is called a whore by (I think) every main character in the book, is come onto by Nelson's gutter-tongued step-dad, and ambushed by Nelson himself into disclosing her childhood rapes while on a fucking New Year's Eve double date. Why does this moment even happen? To what end? Am I supposed to see a link between Annabelle's actual sexual trauma by her childhood father-figure and Nelson's just kind of shitty hand dealt by a deadbeat dad? Because, no. And this is the best case scenario, where Updike actually thought this through.

Are there things to admire in "Rabbit Remembered?" Of course. Updike didn't win a Pulitzer for nothing, but to pan for gold while waist-deep in shit doesn't seem to even out anymore. At a certain point you need to cut your losses. If you want to get anywhere, that is. And don't you?