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musicsaves's review against another edition
4.0
FIRST LINE REVIEW : "In addition to the relevant facts, winnowed from heaps of raw information, a biography ought to give a sense of what its subject was like to shake hands with or stand next to our drink coffee with." and that's much of this bio's success. What an incredibly dedicated writer, perhaps one of our hardest working. I've read about a dozen of his novels over the years and now look forward to digging into his short stories.
sophronisba's review against another edition
4.0
I am a sucker for literary biographies, and this is a really really good one, on a par with Blake Bailey's Cheever biography. (I am a fan of Updike's work, which helps.) In particular, Updike's relationship with his mother is fascinating.
cdcsmith's review against another edition
4.0
While I didn't win this via Goodreads, I did when the ARC from elsewhere.
The problem with reviewing a book like this is separating the subject from the writing. I think this might be more true of a biography about a rather prolific author.
I found the writing easy to read and I think Begley did a very good job balancing how he portrayed Updike. I haven't read much Updike and I'll confess further. I haven't read his stuff in decades. After reading this book, I'll be re-reading some and perhaps reading other books for the first time. I didn't always like the choices Updike made, but as far as flawed human beings, I don't think he was the worst either.
I think what I liked the most was what Updike had to say about the craft of writing and reviewing. Definitely a recommended read for Updike fans.
The problem with reviewing a book like this is separating the subject from the writing. I think this might be more true of a biography about a rather prolific author.
I found the writing easy to read and I think Begley did a very good job balancing how he portrayed Updike. I haven't read much Updike and I'll confess further. I haven't read his stuff in decades. After reading this book, I'll be re-reading some and perhaps reading other books for the first time. I didn't always like the choices Updike made, but as far as flawed human beings, I don't think he was the worst either.
I think what I liked the most was what Updike had to say about the craft of writing and reviewing. Definitely a recommended read for Updike fans.
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