Chapter of John Updike’s life is closed

Massachusetts, January 28: John Updike, the man of letters, known for his expertise in fiction, criticism, short stories, essays and novels died on Tuesday of lung cancer, in Massachusetts. He was 76. Picture: Get original file (15KB) Full Article: "It is with great sadness that I report that John Updike died this morning," said Nicholas Latimer of Alfred A. Knopf, a unit of Random House. "He was one of our greatest writers, and he will be sorely missed." Counted among the most prolific of American writers, Updike was twice honored with the Pulitzer Prize for ‘Rabbit Is Rich’ (1981) and its successor, ‘Rabbit at Rest’ (1991). Several of his books made the bestsellers, including ‘Rabbit, Run’ (1960), ‘Couples’ (1968), ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ (1984) and ‘Terrorist’ (2006). The Rabbit novels revolved around a disturbed car dealer in a town, which was very similar to the author’s own hometown of Shillington, Pennsylvania. They mostly reflected the middle-class American life. Updike’s blunt take on sex had come before the U.S. culture had accepted it openly. In fact, ‘Rabbit, Run’ was edited to a large extent before going into print, because of the fears of being charged with obscenity. Updike was often at the target of critics and some accused him of using polished prose to cover thin subject matter. But who can challenge the might of a pen; Updike continued with his style. "Men are all heart and women are all body. I don't know who has the brains. God maybe," he said through a character in ‘Rabbit, Run.’ The New Yorker recurrently made space for Updike’s writings. "No writer was more important to the soul of The New Yorker than John," said David Remnick, the editor of the magazine, in a statement. "Even though his literary career transcended any magazine -- he was obviously among the very best writers in the world -- he still loved writing for this weekly magazine, loved being part of an enterprise that he joined when he was so young.” The acclaimed writer had penned 862 pieces for the magazine, including 327 book reviews, 170 short stories and 154 poems. Calling Updike the spirit of The New Yorker, Remnick said it is hard to imagine things without him. Updike had admitted in a 2005 interview that the recent years had changed his writing style as he was focusing more on art and literary criticism and not so much on the short-story medium. Though his work was popular among audience and normally sold well, Updike knew there would be a downward spiral for what we now know as ‘literary fiction.’ However, the passion for writing was to live as long as Updike himself did. "An aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of a shelf of books behind him that, as they wait for their ideal readers to discover them, will outlast him for a while," he wrote in AARP The Magazine, late last year. "The pleasures, for him, of book-making ... remain, and retain creation's giddy bliss. Among those diminishing neurons there lurks the irrational hope that the last book might be the best." His last work, ‘My Father's Tears and Other Stories,’ will be out later this year.