The Afterlife and Other Stories

Updike's stories are beautifully written, and the details of life presented here are touchingly real. That said, the characters in many of the stories are similar enough, and the themes similar enough, that it wasn't as compelling as his other work which I've read, and there wasn't enough variety as I'd like in a short story collection, even one from a single author. I did enjoy many of the stories, but I think each might have been more powerful if stumbled across in the midst of other authors or as narratives within a larger framework/novel. Real as they were, I was often left wishing for more.

Another great collection from Updike. There were two stories I just couldn't get into so I skipped them. Several stories dealing with an elderly or recently deceased mother were especially touching, I couldn't help but wonder if these were actually Updike and his own mother. Several phrases from the book that really stuck with me-

'He had come to see that the heart, likea rubber ball, loses bounce, and eventually goes dead.'

'Time takes all.'

'Nobody belongs to us, except in memory.'

A collection of high quality stories, kind of autobiography told from a mature, experienced, yet still wondrous perspective.

Kreuzfahrt von John Updike ist ein weiteres dieser Mini Bücher. Es enthält 4 Erzählungen, von denen zwei von einem Ehepaar handeln, sie deutlich jünger als er, die Italien und Irland bereisen. Interessanterweise habe ich das Buch kurz vor meinem Besuch in Irland gelesen. Mir hat besonders gefallen, wie treffend die Beziehungen der Menschen dargestellt wurden - gute Beobachtungsgabe.