The Afterlife And Other Stories (1996) - Plot & Excerpts
When John Updike recently passed away, he wrote a poem suggesting that the world would forget him.After his life, I read the Afterlife and found that despite death, the human echo can be as meaningful as the words spoke when the voice was alive. (barf).Regardless, Updike crafts a short story collection that hits home in almost every piece. Almost all dealing with adultery, some with mommy/son issues, and some with death (none about the actual afterlife), Updike's stories often make one pause, look up from their book, and think.What really gets you about this book is Updike's prose style. He writes his stories very simplistically, in the sense that there is no high drama or striking twists and turns. Rather, his narratives are brief glimpses in people's lives that jump quickly through years and facts as if they were matters-of-facts. His word play and discriptions of hard-to-discribe things are impecable.For instance, the dentist: that feeling of a loose and wiggling tooth; Updike discribes it as a painful tickle. Arrowhead accurate if you ask me. This book of stories was a delight to read from start to finish.
March 29I have read four of the twenty-one stories in this volume so far, and they are lovely. Beautifully evocative little contemplations on life, and family, and the wistfulness that comes of missed connections and misunderstandings. These are masterful stories, and I cannot fault them. Except.... I feel let down. I wonder, what happens next? These are excellent examples of the short stories that frustrate me and tell me "I don't like short stories." But, I do! I do like short stories! There are many stories that satisfy me and that feel complete and whole and brilliant. These leave me feeling unfulfilled and that makes me sad.April 6Read one more story, and abruptly decided I just can't stand this collection. Having "cheated" and read other Goodreaders views, I see that these stories continue to be about wistful and unhappy relationship problems for middle aged characters. I don't need to read any more to know that I do not like them.
What do You think about The Afterlife And Other Stories (1996)?
Gad, is this what passes in sophisticated circles as excellent literature? Pretentious garbage showcasing the author’s (and his target audiences I assume) sophistication by highlighting some petty bits of the human condition. The bits he highlights are, unfortunately, realistic and I have to admit at one point his story made me smile, abet because the character in that story was doing something I have been on the receiving end of so I can relate to the other person quite well. Is it really that difficult to realize someone reading intently doesn’t want to be constantly interrupted – especially about something as annoying as the SuperBowl? Of course that characters dismissing of the commercials shows his snobbishness and is something I wouldn’t do – they are interesting and fun.So it gets a 2, but only just.
—B. Keith Barron
Updike's stories are beautifully written, and the details of life presented here are touchingly real. That said, the characters in many of the stories are similar enough, and the themes similar enough, that it wasn't as compelling as his other work which I've read, and there wasn't enough variety as I'd like in a short story collection, even one from a single author. I did enjoy many of the stories, but I think each might have been more powerful if stumbled across in the midst of other authors or as narratives within a larger framework/novel. Real as they were, I was often left wishing for more.
—Jennifer Lauren Collins
For so many years I resisted reading this master of the short story. Am I ever glad I finally gave in. Underneath Updike's legendary technical virtuosity is a gift for storytelling that few have ever approached. His ability to see things and people just as they are and put that into writing allows his stories to unfold naturally. However "nearly perfect' or flawless his writing might have been it is the storyline itself and the well-drawn characters that populate his stories that make them read so very well. So far I have only read a bit of Updike. I am looking forward to reading all of his work, including his poetry and criticism.
—Denis
