Updike was an elegant writer of the second rate, a sophisticated entertainer.
In that he reminds me - although entirely different in tone and subject matter - of someone like Somerset Maugham.
Many of Updike's ideas and attitudes were remarkably parochial. He was a great booster of the ridiculous politicians' slogan, the American Dream.
I don't believe he contributed anything of lasting importance to understanding the human condition.
THE LATE JOHN UPDIKE
