Bech: His Oeuvre

Bech

by John Updike

This is a reprint of Updike's article by the same name in The New Yorker in 1998. Bech first appeared in Updike's works in 1964 in a short story called "The Bulgarian Poetess" His life was famously continued in three Updike novels in 1970, 1982 and 1998. This subsequent short story finds Bech as an old man, remembering the women of his life.

30 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 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

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a great fan of Updike's writing. His mastery of the English language, of vocabulary, may be unequalled among modern writers. This tiny volume - only 30 pages - first appeared as an article in the January 25, 1999, issue of The New Yorker, and ends Updike's literary relationship with Henry Bech. Bech first appear in Updike's writing in 1964 and his life was filled out in three complete Bech novels in 1970, 1982 and 1998. So this is just a little coda to his life. It has nothing to do with my enjoyment of Updike's writing, but this little book is one of those marvels of publishing that makes "holding a book in your hand" such an enjoyment. William B. Ewart only printed 110 copies. It has a new Updike "Author's Note" at the beginning. It is marvelously illustrated by Arnold Roth. My copy is printed on Zerkall Book paper and bound in half leather - and is SIGNED by both Updike and Roth. I LOVE IT.