John Updike

Prolific in a variety of genres, John Updike is one of North America's premier men of letters, regularly producing novels, poetry, short fiction, and volumes of assorted prose. Without question, he is one of the most widely read contemporary American authors. Updike's elegant fiction on the tensions and tragedies of contemporary middle-class life have earned him numerous awards, including the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for his novel Rabbit is Rich. Updike is also a serious craftsman of the short story, with 10 collections and 200 short stories to his credit. His stature as a writer of short fiction warrants close examination, particularly in light of the author's active contribution to the genre's current revitalization through formal experimentation and stylistic excellence. In John Updike: A Study of the Short Fiction, Robert M. Luscher focuses exclusively on Updike's short fiction. In this comprehensive treatment of all of Updike's short fiction, Luscher explores each of Updike's story collections separately and in approximate chronological order. Luscher adopts this traditional approach, because each collection has a dominant thematic focus and examines characters in a particular phase of development. Updike's short fiction captures the changing historical background, the shifting social mores, and the personal responses to the altered socio-cultural circumstances that have heightened spiritual uncertainty, social unrest, sexual freedom, and domestic tension. Each successive collection shows Updike experimenting with different techniques as his focus on American domestic life adjusts to accommodate new emphases. Luscher reveals how the particular form and techniques Updike employs areadapted to the materials. As Updike's emphasis on different phases of experience shifts, so does the manner in which he handles his subjects. Luscher's examination is amplified by Updike's own commentary on the art of fiction. He foregrounds Updike's remarks on writing and attitudes about his material, rather than the autobiographical content of his stories. Robert M. Luscher's well organized presentation, cogent use of existing scholarship, and persuasive insights are sure to make this a ground-breaking study of John Updike's short fiction.