Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel

A dozen short stories, plus one novella, all on the theme of love: adulterous love, familial love, nostalgic love, aging love. Updike’s skill lies in the beauty and intricacy of his sentences, which trace the subtleties of the human heart – he writes with passion and drive and a deep appreciation for women.

Licks of Love(2000)by John Updike consists of twelve short stories and a novella, "Rabbit Remembered". Most of these stories, including the novella, revisits characters in past writings of Updike. Possibly all of them -- I could not be certain because I haven't read all of his works yet. I got a bit frustrated at times because some of the characters' names would be familiar to me but I could not quite recall which work they were from. Some were easy -- such as Henry Bech or the Angstroms, the latter of whom become acquainted with Rabbit's illegitimate daughter who literally shows up at their doorstep after Rabbit's death.

Some stories refer to earlier works of places and people I haven't read about yet, such as the town of Olinger. I show more guess I should put The Olinger Stories next on my TBR list.

I think I would have enjoyed this collection more if I had been more familiar with characters or recalled them better. Some were more fresh in my mind such as the Angstroms. How could it not be, after having read all four books in the "Rabbit" tetralogy, even though the last one (Rabbit at Rest) was read a while back.

As usual, Updike is great with character development and description. Such as: "His beard had alarmed me, too, when he first began to grow it-- in this part of the country beards were left to Amishmen and ancestors in stiff-leaved photograph albums. This beard had a surprising amount of red in it, among bristles of grays and brown. It gave its wearer a mischievous-looking authority, and seemed to amplify his voice". (from the short story "The Cats"; p. 69) show less

This is a collection of short stories by John Updike published in the year 2000, along with a novella concluding the Rabbit series of novels ('Rabbit Remembered').

I'm not normally a short story lover, but this was an excellent read and I remain in awe at the brilliance of Updike's writing. Every story could have extended into a novel in it's own right - he can hook me in a page, whereas other writers might take 50 pages before I'm committed to the read.

I'm not sure that the Rabbit series needed this final novella as I think the final Rabbit novel finished off Rabbit's story, but having loved them all it was nice to be back in the world of the Angstroms for a short while. Rabbit is now deceased, so without him the story falls somewhat show more flat, but it was an enjoyable enough read.

4.5 stars overall for an amazing collection of stories. show less

Updike is not one of my favorite authors. For instance I didn't like his "Witches of Eastwick," but I did like "Rabbit Run." I thought these short stories, though, were pretty entertaining. They had real emotional voices to the characters. Most dealt with unrequited love or decaying relationships, so it's not a "happy" book, but I still found it enjoyable to read.

For the reader who's read the four Rabbit books, "Rabbit Remembered," the novella in this book, is a special treat. It ties up a few loose ends and in oblique recollections from his wife and son conjures moments in Harry's life from new angles. Updike's ambient details and psychological asides are, as always, a highlight of the novella.

I'm not sure I can think of a single short story in this collection that I enjoyed - lame twists and retreads of previous material abound. The epitaph that is Rabbit Remembered provides a few thrills, but not many.

A few short stories and a novella about Rabbit's family after he has died. This last is powerful. Many of the stories have wonderful sketches of Pennsylvania.