Afterlife

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 336 pages
• Published by: Ballantine Books August 27, 1996
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0449912019
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0449912010
• Book Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 10.4 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
22 short stories from Updike, many concerned with aging and attempts to sustain intimate relationships.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
In Olinger Stories (1964), Updike wrote knowingly about the pangs of adolescence. In Too Far To Go (1979), he focused with equal insight on the family and material crises typical of middle age. Now, after publishing more than forty volumes of fiction, poetry, and essays, he concentrates on aging protagonists and the abundant evidence of mortality that surrounds them. In these mellow, reflective stories, where parents die and grandchildren are born, Updike's heroes are acutely aware of lost glory yet discover the strength to persevere. In "Short Easter," for example, the start of daylight-saving time cuts an hour off the holiday, and this odd truncation evokes for the central character greater personal losses. As usual, Updike's narration is masterful, but a few stories seem to be reworkings of the same basic plot.
--Albert E. Wilhelm, Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Reader Reviews
The Afterlife and Other Stories by John Updike exemplify the admirable qualities of John Updike as a writer. No matter what your perception of Updike's "take" on the world (and while we're on that subject-let us not confuse the character's feelings and views for those of the author), one is forced to admit that Mr. Updike is a very gifted writer. There is a lot to admire and be entertained by in The Afterlife and Other Stories. Mr. Updike clearly demonstrates why he is known as one of the greatest prose stylists of the past century. These stories make the things one would typically view as mundane come to spectacularly sparkling life. The locations of these stories have a personality of their own. Houses and landscapes interact with characters in a ways that, while difficult to describe, are very character-like in their own right. This gives the stories a sense of wonder that is palpably felt throughout the book. Forces of nature-the blowing of a breeze, a rainstorm, the heat of the day, the light of the moon in the middle of the night-all echo the inner workings and turmoil of the character's souls. This gives the book an almost spiritual intensity...something lacking in much of today's two-dimensional "cookie cutter" writing. The Afterlife and Other Stories is rich in imagery, meaning, and irony. There are a lot of interesting points and perspectives for the reader to ponder. One cannot read this book without having been challenged, entertained, and moved. The tales told in The Afterlife and Other Stories taken individually are very entertaining. Taken as a whole, The Afterlife and Other Stories is something very special. Updike is a powerful writer. I have enjoyed several of his novels. However, I appreciate his short stories deeply. The Afterlife and Other Stories is probably my favorite collection of Mr. Updike's stories. I recommend this book.