Villages

Villages was one of Updike's later novels, released in 2005. Like many of his earlier novels, it's based around a story of middle class adultery in average-town America, with the main character looking back in his old age at the sex and love which has been indelibly weaved throughout his life's story.

With the historical narrative set mainly in the 1950s - 1970s, the protagonist, Owen Mackenzie - an MIT graduate and early pioneer of computer technology - lives comfortably in various 'villages' around the east coast of the States. He is the kind of man who has always been enthralled by the smallest details of the women who have crossed his path, seeing beauty in all the differences of their physique and character. Not surprisingly, this show more appreciation leads to him being easily persuaded to loosen the moral tethers that bind his marriage, from which point there is no going back.

Selfish, self-centred, amoral, most of the characters echo the stereotypes from the Rabbit Angstrom novels, with the familiar theme of middle-age boredom setting in amongst the weekend cocktail party set. That being said, this novel is much more focused on Mackenzie's emotional connections (or lack of) to his sexual affairs, and as such is probably most similar to his earlier Couples novel.

The sexual reminiscing is fairly unerotic, but as usual Updike manages to make the lives of weak, morally bankrupt characters totally engaging.

I'm a big Updike fan, and as always was blown away by the utter skill of his narrative. Not my favourite of his books so far, but enjoyable nonetheless. show less

John Updike has won every imaginable award for this stellar writing ability- including the Pulitzer Prize. His numerous novels written over the course of 50 years of time all share the common elements of candid descriptions of all phases of life, told from a white male’s point of view. Surely annoying and distasteful to the woke generation of readers.

Updike’s characters may not always be likable. In fact, Owen MacKenzie of "Villages", is downright offensive. One element that clearly offends is Updike’s eager willingness to blame women for Owen’s infidelities, and his graphic sexual descriptions of sexual encounters with various wanton, clingy, women from the village. However, maybe woke readers should consider it a compliment show more that the women in Owen’s life were the aggressors- in total control of their decisions, intentionally leading him down the path of immoral behavior and marital sin.

As the story begins, we learn Owen and his wife Phyllis were clearly sexually incompatible. It didn’t appear to be a deal breaker, or of much importance in the early years of marriage. And then the sexual revolution of the late 1960s began, and Owen got bored and strayed- over and over. As Owen becomes a successful entrepreneur in the budding computer software industry (with lots of vivid descriptions of the evolution of computers) his family grows to four children.

This is Owen’s story. He loves his work, and he loves his life. And his wife either loves him too much to complain about his extra-marital affairs, or does not love him enough to think it matters. We will never know. It would have been interesting to hear her side of the story- perhaps inspiring a 5 Star review. But Updike does not provide all the answers. All we know is that Owen is a man of intense physical passions. His one philosophical observation in the entire story is simply stated, “sex is a holiday”. It is just too bad his holidays had to occur outside the home with other women.

Adultery happens. It’s not for me to judge. But I fail to understand why anyone would indiscriminately go through a series of bawdy one night stands and casual affairs just for the sexual entertainment. So, please note that my rating is not based on condoning the actions of the characters, but is based on the captive quality of Updike’s storytelling, his ability to transition his narrative smoothly jumping back and forth in time, and his realistic descriptions of people. His characters come to life. Their pain, confusion, doubt, and insecurities are palpable. Likable or not, Owen MacKenzie conveys the image a real person. show less

This novel, read magnificently in its audio version by Edward Herrmann, is vintage Updike. A man in his 70s remembers & celebrates the women in his life--mother, grandmother, girlfriends, 2 wives, lovers--their beauty, their sexuality, their contributions to his developing selfhood. Typically, there's lots of vividly described sex. The central question seems to be: Why do women fuck, when it comes with such tremendous costs for them, costs that men such as the book's subject mostly ignore? He sets the question (less successfully) in the context of the villages with which this fucking (& its consequences) occur. As he concludes, he writes (in a statement probably not adequately set up by the preceding narrative): "Life is show more madness.Villages exist to moderate that madness." Beautifully, perceptively wrtten, as always, with Updike's usual keen insights into the vicissitudes of the cultural experiences of middle-class American males since WWII, it could have explored more thoroughly & perceptively this moderating role of villages. show less

It's odd that while I have been a voracious reader all my life I had never read anything by Updike. I remember seeing the Rabbit books in bookstores and just not being interested. Yet I read books by others who were almost contemporaries: John Cheever, Norman Mailer, others.

In some ways this book reminded me of Cheever, although it does not have the distrust of women in it that Cheever seems to broadcast. The themes seem similar: middle-class marriages, sexual relations.

The villages in this book are the stages of life of the main character, Owen Mackenzie. Owen seems obsessed with satisfying his sexual urges through most of the middle period, while he's more relaxed in the other two times. I was not sure what he was really striving for show more with all those adulterous ventures. In fact, the fault may be in me, as I soon tired of them and didn't want to see more.

The language at times is beautiful. It often made me smile. show less

John Updike's novels read just like his short stories, only longer. It's the same "slice of life" approach, he just gives you a broader slice. In Villages, we are presented with Updike's version of small town life, through the life of his main character, Owen Mackenzie. We're also presented with a brief history of the early decades of computer science, which is Owen's field. (This is integrated into the story somewhat more successfully than the history of postwar American art was in Updike's previous novel, Seek My Face.)

But what Villages is really about is sex. It follows Owen's sexual development from childhood to old age. Most of the book is about his many affairs with practically every woman in town. Updike has some interesting show more things to say about sex, some insightful things, some obvious things, some inconsistent things, and some just plain wrong things. On the whole, the attitude toward sex in this artistic portrayal of it isn't exactly healthy, but neither is it as sick as, say, Joyce's in Ulysses.

Not a bad read overall, but not fantastic either. show less

this is just a waterered down, condensed version of Rabbit. It is a shame that Updike is not interested in much else besides philandering cowardly selfish suburban husbands -- he's wasting his talent.

Basically, this is one man's life story, from birth to death. The book was a little too dry and rambling for me. I have enjoyed other Updike books, but this was not one of my favorites.