Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel explained
| Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel |
| Author: | John Updike |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Short Stories |
| Pub Date: | 2000 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages: | 359 |
| Isbn: | 0-375-41113-5 |
| Oclc: | 00034906 |
| Dewey: | 813’.54 dc21 |
| Congress: | PS357I.P4 L53 |
Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel is a collection of 12 works of short fiction and a novella by John Updike. The volume was published in 2000 by Alfred A. Knopf.[1]
The novella included in the collection entitled Rabbit Remembered, is a sequel to Updike's four previous novels that feature his literary invention Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom.[2]
Stories
The stories first appeared in The New Yorker, unless indicated otherwise.[3]
- "The Woman Who Got Away" (October 9, 1995)
- "Lunch Hour" (December 18, 1995)
- "New York Girl" (April 1, 1996)
- "My Father on the Verge of Disgrace" (March 10, 1997)
- "The Cats" (December 9, 1996)
- "Oliver’s Evolution" (Esquire, April 1998)
- "Natural Color" (March 23, 1998)
- "Licks of Love in the Heart of the Cold War" (The Atlantic, May 1998)
- "His Oeuvre" (see footnote above)
- "How Was It, Really? (May 17, 1999)
- "Scenes From the Fifties" (Penguin Books, July 1995 in A Collection of Stories—Penguin's 60th Anniversary box set.)
- "Metamorphosis" (August 9, 1999)
Novella
Rabbit Remembered
Reception
In the short stories comprising Licks of Love, Updike is preoccupied with "themes of loss", based on reminiscences from his youth and middle-age—often recounting "blue-remembered infidelities."[4] [5]
Film and cultural critic A. O. Scott, writing in The New York Times, comments on the key thematic element that characterizes this short fiction:
Describing the short works as "ghost stories", literary critic Xan Brooks writes:
Brooks adds: "In terms of technique, this curious, twofold creation can't be faulted. Updike still writes with his usual easy grace, demonstrating his casual mastery at piloting a narrative. But the whole thing is coloured by a strange lack of rigor and ambition."[6]
Sources
- Brooks, Xan. 2001. Rabbit Stew. The Guardian, March 17, 2001. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/17/fiction.johnupdike Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- Carduff, Christopher. 2013. Note on the Texts from John Updike: Collected Later Stories. Christopher Carduff, editor. The Library of America. pp. 948–958
- Scott, A. O. 2000. Still Wild About Harry. The New York Times, Books. November 19, 2000. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/19/reviews/001119.19smcgt.html Retrieved 6 March 2023.
Notes and References
- Carduff, 2013 pp. 948-958
- Scott, 2000
- Carduff, 2013 p. 955-956: Note on the Texts And: The Note section does not record "His Oeuvre", but the story appears in the 2000 Borzoi Book edition.
- Brooks, 2001: See here for quoted material, "loss" and "infidelities."
- Scott, 2000: "More often, though, Updike uses eros as a window onto the past…"
- Brooks, 2001
