Rabbit, Run

This is mostly a nothingburger opinion. I appreciate this sub for making me try to read actual books again. And I don't have anyone in real life to express this to.

I don't know, man. I could give Rabbit a better close reading to give it a fair shake, but I don't want to at the moment.

Were unlikable prat male characters of Rabbit's variety groundbreaking at the time?

I've liked plenty of prat characters of both sexes. The prose is fine. The plot isn't the thing, but the audacity is a hook. What's my issue?

Maybe Updike just isn't my cup of tea. I remember reading shorter stuff by him years ago (stories, probably a bit of nonfiction) and thinking he was a fine writer, but a series of novels in the modern canon? Not personally feeling it.

To be snarky, are competitive lit crit high school kids going to be memorizing Jonathan Tropper titles like I did with Updike titles in the 90s? Are they already?

I'm not wanting to disparage either man here. Tropper is a solid commercial writer (commercial vs literary is at least a bit elitist anyway) who annoys me with the misogyny.

Pretty sure Updike was interrogating misogyny more. But they give me very similar lowkey, visceral annoyance.