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Title: Don't Do as I Do
Review: If Updike deliberately intended for this book to portray a person who's life you definitely should NOT imitate, then maybe this book should get 5 stars. But I wish that he had stated that a little more plainly. Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom is, as a character in the book says to him, totally self-centered and spoiled. It made me want to scold this fictional character's parents for doing such a poor job of raising him. The story is almost unrelentingly depressing. He thinks only of himself, and doesn't care who he hurts in his pursuit of his latest whim. It would be nice if he learned something positive by the end of the book, or at least acknowledged some of his shortcomings, but alas, that is not the case. The only redeeming quality in this book is a positive portrayal of a minister -- a man who is good, doing his best, yet human. That's a creature most writers today don't even know exists.
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