The Witches of Eastwick
Books | Fiction / Literary
3.1
(104)
John Updike
“John Updike is the great genial sorcerer of American letters [and] The Witches of Eastwick [is one of his] most ambitious works. . . . [A] comedy of the blackest sort.”—The New York Times Book ReviewToward the end of the Vietnam era, in a snug little Rhode Island seacoast town, wonderful powers have descended upon Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie, bewitching divorcées with sudden access to all that is female, fecund, and mysterious. Alexandra, a sculptor, summons thunderstorms; Jane, a cellist, floats on the air; and Sukie, the local gossip columnist, turns milk into cream. Their happy little coven takes on new, malignant life when a dark and moneyed stranger, Darryl Van Horne, refurbishes the long-derelict Lenox mansion and invites them in to play. Thenceforth scandal flits through the darkening, crooked streets of Eastwick—and through the even darker fantasies of the town’s collective psyche.“A great deal of fun to read . . . fresh, constantly entertaining . . . John Updike [is] a wizard of language and observation.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “Vintage Updike, which is to say among the best fiction we have.”—Newsday
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More Details:
Author
John Updike
Pages
352
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Published Date
2012-03-13
ISBN
0679645888 9780679645887
Ratings
Google: 3.5
Community ReviewsSee all
"I'm not really sure what I was wanting to gain from reading this book.....I had seen the movie years ago and thought it was pretty good and I think Jack Nicholson is the PERFECT Darryl Van Horne....just what you imagine him to be while reading the book. The book...at times....made me feel a bit uncomfortable because of all the wanton sexual escapades between Darryl and the 3 women/witches (Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie. I really like the women when they were struggling with everyday life situations and I loved Sukie and her happy-go-lucky spirit. Jane was just a bit too brash for me to feel any kind of emotion towards her other than a bit of dislike. Alexandra was the typical reminder of how all women seem to be too hard on themselves and worry to much about weight.....illness......looks......children.....etc.<br/><br/>The book was funny in places but it was more of a heavy type read and the ending was really not that happy......I felt a bit sad and disheartened by it and it really wasn't what I thought would be a more light....quirky type of read. I guess I was just expecting more and so therefore I was letdown. Don't get me wrong......the writing style of John Updike is beautiful and so full of description that it is very easy to visualize what he wants you to see.....it just wasn't that amazing book that I was looking for....it was more of an okay book that you are neither happy or sad that you read it."
Tracy Walters
