The Centaur

THE CENTAUR
by John Updike

 Award: National Book 1964

 Date Read: April 11, 2020

With a fondness for Updike firmly in place, I looked forward to this  like a feast. In the end, I have mixed feelings. While I found the relationship between father and son compelling, the references to Chiron, the centaur were completely lost on me. Is this due to my lack of understanding of Greek mythology? Possibly. 

 Peter, the son, seems wise beyond his years and throughout, never really relates to his peers, excepting Penny, a girl he would cut off his arm to get anywhere near her underwear. He is simultaneously dedicated to and protective of his father, oftentimes seeming more responsible than George, while also being frustrated and repulsed by him. I found it such a contradiction that in his perceived maturity he still calls George "Daddy."

Father and son both seem trapped in their lives, both hurtling toward an uncertain future. George, at only 50, his glory days in his distant past, is unsatisfied in his life but can't envision a different reality. He is a mediocre teacher, viewing his students as monsters and the art of teaching drudgery. Multiple people throughout discuss the toll teaching is having on him but he refuses to consider any other future. Peter, meanwhile, longs to paint and live in a big city. He holds this desire close and hides his true self from others, much like his psoriasis he is constantly terrified others will see and be repulsed by.

Their never-ending journey to return home borders on the absurd but through these challenges, father and son are able to reveal more of themselves to each other. 

 And finally, they shouldn't leave that damned dog out in the snow.

 Looking Forward: Bech, The Coup, The Poorhouse Fair, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit Run, Roger's Version

 Looking Back: Rabbit At Rest, Rabbit Is Rich

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Gentleman In Moscow

Image
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2018, Goodreads Finalist 2016, Kirkus Finalist 2016   Date Read: February 24, 2017   From Kirkus Reviews:   “Sentenced to house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal for writing a poem deemed to encourage revolt, Count Alexander Rostov nonetheless lives the fullest of lives, discovering the depths of his humanity.   Inside the elegant Metropol, located near the Kremlin and the Bolshoi, the Count slowly adjusts to circumstances as a "Former Person." He makes do with the attic room, to which he is banished after residing for years in a posh third-floor suite. A man of refined taste in wine, food, and literature, he strives to maintain a daily routine, exploring the nooks and crannies of the hotel, bonding with staff, accepting the advances of attractive women, and forming what proves to be a deeply meaningful relationship with a spirited young girl, Nina. "We are bound to find comfo
Read more

An Island

Image
AN ISLAND by Karen Jennings   Nomination: Booker Longlist 2021   Date Read: December 10, 2022   A short but mighty novel, An Island explores the concept of home, family, identity, the impact of political upheaval and the immigrant experience, when one’s suffering is so intense they move from one shitty country to the next. Samuel has finally found a peaceful home on an island somewhere off the coast of Africa. He was hired as a lighthouse keeper and after a tumultuous life, most of which was spent in prison as a political prisoner, he has carved out a life for himself on this island, enjoying a tranquil existence that basks in the quiet tasks of daily living.   Only after exploring Samuel’s life does the reader understand why such an isolated, spare and lonely existence satisfy him, with no desire to escape but only to grow deeper roots. His life witnessed the end of the British occupation, the installation of a brutal dictator and yet another dictator after the first was poisoned. Sam
Read more

The Changeling

Image
THE CHANGELING by Victor LaValle   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2019, LA Times Finalist 2017, PEN/Jean Stein Finalist 2018   Date Read: July 21, 2024   From Kirkus Reviews: “A  tragedy thrusts a mourning father into peculiar, otherworldly corners of New York City. When Apollo and Emma have their baby, Brian, it feels like both reward and challenge for the new dad. Apollo, the son of a single mother, had been scraping by as a bookseller who hunts estate and garage sales for rare first editions, so even the unusual circumstance of Brian's birth (in a stalled subway train) seems like a blessing, as does the way Apollo stumbles across a first edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird  (inscribed by Harper Lee to Truman Capote, no less) shortly after. But after some young-parent squabbles and inexplicable images on their smartphones foreshadow trouble, the story turns nightmarish: Apollo finds himself tied up and beaten by Emma, then forced to listen to the sounds of Brian’s murder. LaValle has
Read more