It’s little secret I’m a fan of Garrison Keillor’s essays. Here’s one excellent reason why:
“This is what the obituaries leave out. The giants fall and we leave them behind but who is left to bless us? Nobody. As long as John was in the world, you could imagine him calling up one morning and saying, “That was good. I liked that.” And now the phone is dead. I feel bereft.”
Read the rest from Garrison Keillor on John Updike.
I haven’t read Updike in ages. (I don’t read much fiction these days.) I found him too flinty, too smug in his maleness. Having read this appreciation, however, I’m going to have to go find one of Updike’s ‘Rabbit’ books and try again. In the meantime, I’m off the read “My Father’s Tears.” Thanks for sharing this, Tom.
I haven’t embraced long form fiction like I have essays and short stories, and Updike’s work was no exception. As for being too smug in his maleness, well, aren’t we all? (Guys I mean.)
“As for being too smug in his maleness, well, aren’t we all? (Guys I mean.)”
Oh, I suppose …
Some of us aren’t….