I know it’s really unfashionable to like John Updike, but I do. So many men still behave like some of his male characters. They just won’t admit to it. I grew up on the “Rabbit” novels. I didn’t love all of them.
But even at a young age, when I hadn’t even had relationships, his characters’ interactions reflected what I was seeing all around me.
Never read Updike or Foster Wallace (always meant to, now I think they’re unfashionable or even a bit cancelled?) But I get the excuse writing thing. Thanks for making me think about this. It’s just lazy of me when I start thinking - well, so and so does it, why can’t I? In fact this morning I was pondering using excessive footnotes in my novel. Why? No idea. But I figured that if Foster Wallace could do it so could I (you know, the writer I’ve never read). Then your post popped up and saved me a lot of trouble 😁
If I inhabited the endangered mind of a young male writer then I might be forgiven for thinking that Rooney's Intermezzo is an excellent excuse for writing about the young male gaze as a young male writer. But it would remain a poor excuse from a publishing perspective.
That film's on Netflix! This has to be just about the first time I've checked Netflix for a film mentioned in something I've read and found it there. Cheers.
I don't know if this is relevant, I think it is, but I based my whole 'Frankie Blue' trilogy on Updike's Rabbit books. I was trying to do an English version of Rabbit, only an estate agent rather than a car salesman. I re read Updike recently and I could see he was problematic, to say the least. But still some much of his prose shimmers. And he does see inside the human heart - perhaps the human male heart - with terrible clarity.
I know it’s really unfashionable to like John Updike, but I do. So many men still behave like some of his male characters. They just won’t admit to it. I grew up on the “Rabbit” novels. I didn’t love all of them.
But even at a young age, when I hadn’t even had relationships, his characters’ interactions reflected what I was seeing all around me.
Never read Updike or Foster Wallace (always meant to, now I think they’re unfashionable or even a bit cancelled?) But I get the excuse writing thing. Thanks for making me think about this. It’s just lazy of me when I start thinking - well, so and so does it, why can’t I? In fact this morning I was pondering using excessive footnotes in my novel. Why? No idea. But I figured that if Foster Wallace could do it so could I (you know, the writer I’ve never read). Then your post popped up and saved me a lot of trouble 😁
If I inhabited the endangered mind of a young male writer then I might be forgiven for thinking that Rooney's Intermezzo is an excellent excuse for writing about the young male gaze as a young male writer. But it would remain a poor excuse from a publishing perspective.
That film's on Netflix! This has to be just about the first time I've checked Netflix for a film mentioned in something I've read and found it there. Cheers.
I don't know if this is relevant, I think it is, but I based my whole 'Frankie Blue' trilogy on Updike's Rabbit books. I was trying to do an English version of Rabbit, only an estate agent rather than a car salesman. I re read Updike recently and I could see he was problematic, to say the least. But still some much of his prose shimmers. And he does see inside the human heart - perhaps the human male heart - with terrible clarity.