Rabbit, Run - John Updike

Since I became a father a few months ago I have been especially vulnerable to any stories that include bad things happening to small people. That’s why the final tragedy of “Rabbit, Run” hit me like a brick to the head. Until then, I had felt this to be a slightly dated, finely written but very glum portrait of male inadequacy and suburban ennui. By the finish, it strikes me as both very powerful and despairing. Surely the most depressing book ever to have the word “rabbit” in its title?