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6. Friend in Need

Episode 6 of 10

Jill brings home a friend, Janice wants a divorce, and Harry is caught between a rock and a hard place. Read by Toby Jones.

Jill brings home a friend in need, Janice asks Harry for a divorce, and Harry is caught between a rock and a hard place, scared by all these sudden and drastic changes.

John Updike's masterful Rabbit quintet established Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom as the quintessential American White middle class male. The first book Rabbit, Run was published in 1960 to critical acclaim. Rabbit Redux is the second in the series, published in 1971 and charting the end of the sixties - featuring, among other things, the first American moon landing and the Vietnam War.

Despite its very strong language, sex, and reflection of racist attitudes of the time, Time Magazine said of the book and its author, "Updike owns a rare verbal genius, a gifted intelligence and a sense of tragedy made bearable by wit. A masterpiece."

It's extraordinary how many of its themes reverberate down to the present day.

Abridged in ten parts by Eileen Horne.

Read by Toby Jones.

Producer: Clive Brill

A Brill production for ±«Óãtv Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2017.

14 minutes

Last on

Mon 18 Mar 2024 21:30

Credits

Role Contributor
Reader Toby Jones
Author John Updike
Abridger Eileen Horne
Producer Clive Brill

Broadcasts

  • Mon 4 Dec 2017 22:45
  • Sat 16 May 2020 21:45
  • Mon 18 Mar 2024 21:30