#john-updike

#john-updike

"White-haired women sit in their aluminum lawn chairs down by the curb dressed like fat babies in checks and frills, their shapeless veined legs cheerfully protruding. Middle-aged men have squeezed their keglike thighs into bicycle shorts meant for boys. Young mothers have come from their back-yard aboveground swimming pools in bikinis and high-sided twists of spandex that leave half their buttocks and breasts exposed."

Updike's reviews in The New Yorker significantly shaped literary discussion, showcasing his admiration for authors like Vargas Llosa, whose impactful storytelling often lagged in U.S. recognition.