This is a terribly disappointing novel. Updike has carved a niche for himself in the hall of literary fame as the map¬maker, non-pareil, of the peaks, valleys and uncharted fissures of suburban/middle¬class America. What made him stray be¬yond the geographical and emotional boundaries of his chosen cartographic zone is a puzzle (though I suspect that it had something to do with ennui); I can only say that I wish fervently he had not.
Jan-Feb 1980, volume 4, No 1-2