Old girlfriends / David Updike.

Title :

Old girlfriends

Author:

Format:

Books

Summary:

Portrays the intricacies of loving someone and the multi-faceted nature of love with candor--from a father's painful realization his son has discovered the dark heart of racism still beats, to a quiet love affair that needs an audience to bloom; from the bumbling of a professor who unwittingly falls for one of his students to the wistful memories of a bittersweet affair tinged in regret.

Language:

English

ISBN - ISSN:

0312550014

9780312550011

Physical Description:

212 pages ; 22 cm

Contents:

Geranium -- In the age of convertibles -- The woman from out of town -- Shining so nicely in the sun -- A word with the boy -- Kinds of love -- Old girlfriends -- The last of the Caribs -- Love songs from America -- Adjunct.

Subject:

Love stories, American.

Fiction.

First Title value, for Searching:

Old girlfriends / David Updike.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Library	Audience	Home Location	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Central	Adult	Fiction	Book	UPDIK	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In this brilliantly told short story collection, critically acclaimed author David Updike skillfully portrays the multi-faceted nature of love and of the heart. From a father's painful realization his son has discovered the dark heart of racism still beats, to a quiet love affair that needs an audience to bloom; from the bumbling of a professor who unwittingly falls for one of his students to the wistful memories of a bittersweet affair tinged in regret, Updike portrays the intricaciesof loving someone with candor. Full of sparkling wonder and poignant melancholy alike, Old Girlfriends is a clear-eyed vision of the world we live in. Drifting from the unrequited to the secretive, the familial to the first poetic moments, this soulful collection leaves no avenue of expression untouched.

Author Notes

DAVID UPDIKE is the author of Out on the Marsh as well as an illustrated quartet for young readers: A Winter Journey , An Autumn Tale , A Spring Story , and The Sounds of Summer . His short stories have been published in The New Yorker , Epiphany, and Sargasso, among others . He is also a photographer and photographically illustrated the children's book, A Helpful Alphabet of Friendly Objects, written by his late father, writer John Updike. He teaches English at Roxbury Community College in Boston and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his family.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Author of the collection Out on the Marsh and several YA titles, a son of John returns with another collection that examines the many sides of romantic and familial love. In the title story, Trevor and his Holocaust-survivor psychotherapist, Sonya, are working together to help him get over his former girlfriend and to remain single for an extended period so that he can learn about his feelings toward women. "Love Songs from America" has an American father bringing his biracial son, Harold, to his wife's Kenyan homeland, underscoring the randomness of comfort and tragedy. "Adjunct" tells of an aimless instructor, Robert, who's looking for "that illicit spark of attraction that lent to the class a certain romantic undertone and, if nothing else, made the term go faster." Though carefully observed, most of these stories suffer from a narrative passivity or abstract musing-"It was a relief to be outside again, and not have to look at her eyes, or keep up with the bantering, dangerous pace of her conversation"-that simply doesn't match the pacing and tone of the tales themselves. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal Review

Updike's latest collection explores thematic territory mapped out in previous work (e.g., Out on the Marsh). As the title suggests, the pieces here examine lost love, nostalgia, and heartbreak, ultimately affirming the potential joys of risking love again. In the title story, for example, a young academic in therapy after a breakup falls in love with a fellow graduate student and is grateful that his former romances have failed. Likewise, in what is arguably this collection's strongest contribution, "In the Age of Convertibles," an exemplary adolescent reaches the limits of his own excellence by fumbling a budding romance. VERDICT Updike's protagonists tend to be variations on a certain middle-class archetype: well educated, emotionally vulnerable, and romantically unfulfilled. They're also tolerant of or at least curious about people from different cultures, and many of the couples are biracial, inviting compelling consideration of identity issues and difference. This work encourages comparison with that of Updike's influential father, John Updike, and of John Irving and will appeal to readers of their works.-J. Greg Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.