RABBIT, RUN (John Updike) - January 4/12

Wow, what an ordeal. This absolutely interminable book, which I started months ago, details a few months in the life of Rabbit, as he leaves his pregnant wife and takes up with a floozy. It's a fine idea for a premise but Updike's almost astonishing incompetence ensures that there's hardly a page here that isn't completely overwritten and incoherent. Updike's stream-of-consciousness style is nothing short of infuriating, and it's ultimately impossible not to wonder what his fans like about his prose. Rabbit, Run is truly one of the worst books I've ever read. no stars out of ****