Rabbit, Run

By: John Updike

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

“A lacerating story of loss and of seeking, written in prose that is charged with emotion but is always held under impeccable control.”—Kansas City Star

Rabbit, Run is the book that established John Updike as one of the major American novelists of his—or any other—generation. Its hero is Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, a onetime high-school basketball star who on an impulse deserts his wife and son. He is twenty-six years old, a man-child caught in a struggle between instinct and thought, self and society, sexual gratification and family duty—even, in a sense, human hard-heartedness and divine Grace. Though his flight from home traces a zigzag of evasion, he holds to the faith that he is on the right path, an invisible line toward his own salvation as straight as a ruler’s edge.©1996 John Updike; (P)2008 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Brilliant and poignant . . . By his compassion, clarity of insight, and crystal-bright prose, [John Updike] makes Rabbit’s sorrow his and our own.”—The Washington Post

“The power of the novel comes from a sense, not absolutely unworthy of Thomas Hardy, that the universe hangs over our fates like a great sullen hopeless sky. There is real pain in the book, and a touch of awe.”—Norman Mailer, Esquire

“A lacerating story of loss and of seeking, written in prose that is charged with emotion but is always held under impeccable control.”—Kansas City Star

Strange story read by a strange narrator

I like the story, despite it having the most unlikable main character I think I’ve ever read. The quality of the writing is quite good, classic John Updike, but the pace drags in parts. I would’ve liked the listening experience far more with a different narrator; this narrator reads dialogue with sort of a weird false cheeriness in every voice.

Its Updike..

This is always some of the best American writing. Updike is so smart, so beautiful and honest. I first read Rabbit nearly 30 years ago and so wonderful to meet Rabbit, Janice and Ruth again. They are familiar old friends.

The narration was beautifully balanced and sensitive.

4.09 stars........Updike keeps it real

This is the first book in a series of four novels. While this isn't a favorite novel of mine, Updike does enough in this first installment to cause me to pick up Book 2 at some point in the future. Since this is the first book in a series, I would only recommend it to those who are interested in the series as a whole. It is a good listen, but not a great one. However, Updike won two Pultizer Prizes for his later works in this series, so maybe the next books improve on this already above average recording. The narrator is the perfect choice for a book like this.

Overall rating: 4.09

Frustrating

I like the style of the writing. The story felt stringy, trashy. I wanted the run away, like Rabbit.
Disclaimer: I didn’t finish listening, so I have no right to criticize.

Why is it a classic?

Very well written and performed, but a mundane story about an uninteresting protagonist who is not likeable. Not sure why it is such a well liked and reviewed book.