Rabbit, Run

By: John Updike

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Rabbit, Run is the book that established John Updike as one of the major American novelists of his - or any other - generation. Its hero is Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, a onetime high-school basketball star who on an impulse deserts his wife and son. He is 26 years old, a man-child caught in a struggle between instinct and thought, self and society, sexual gratification and family duty - even, in a sense, human hard-heartedness, and divine Grace. Though his flight from home traces a zigzag of evasion, he holds to the faith that he is on the right path, an invisible line toward his own salvation as straight as a ruler’s edge.

©1996 John Updike (P)2008 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Brilliant and poignant...By his compassion, clarity of insight and crystal-bright prose, he makes Rabbit's sorrow his and our own." ( The Washington Post)

“A lacerating story of loss and of seeking, written in prose that is charged with emotion but is always held under impeccable control.” (Kansas City Star)

Poor choice of reader

I was very disappointed with this book. Having read each of the Rabbit novels over the years, I was looking forward to enjoying them all again. The book was great but the choice of reader was not. I could not even finish Rabbit Run. The voice whined on and on in such an irritating way and just did not fit the charactor of a young "big man on campus" type like Rabbit. I will avoid any future books using him as the reader.

Worth reading to the end!

Very tough book to handle. The descriptions are too rich and flowery. But there is much symbolism there. Such characters!!

deep story, bad children's voices in narration

good, classic story of slice of life in 1950s Pennsylvania.
narrator is good, sort of cringey children's voices though.

just ok

The story is just ok. The narrator did a nice job, However, his voice was too old and gravelly for a 26 year old man. It was not convincing and distracted from the listening experience.

"...press two to hear the next chapter"

The monotonous, uninflected, seemingly uncomprehending, reading doesn't ruin the sublime writing, but comes too close.

Great book, great performance

Arthur Morey does a first rate job. The producer should get much of the credit since Morey has the perfect voice for the Rabbit novels. I listened to this 3 times and it got better each time. Well worth your money.

A priceless, ruthless portrait of youth

Rabbit, Run is not an uplifting novel, and despite all the talk of Christ and spirituality, it is not terribly enlightening, either. What John Updike gives us, however, is a priceless, ruthless portrait of youth- complete with its vitality, vigor, and arrogance. By design, Harry Angstrom isn't a likable character; he hurts nearly everyone who loves him as he tries to sort out his life. Or maybe you do like him, despite yourself, and become implicated in his domestic tragedy.
As always, Updike's prose is note-perfect. When he deals with sexuality, he does so with such objective remoteness that one feels like the viewer of a 1960s foreign film, where titillation is chilled by artistry.

Classic College English Read

More mature than a High School read, but with all the enthusiasms for High School greatness. Graphic sex scenes well read and not too bad in story line dips or serious detail to mundane culture nuances. Likable title charactor and serious activity in plotline. Good solid interesting and excellent written scenes of that era.

A forgettable classic

Very surprised that for a classic author that this was such an unforgettable book. The main character Rabbit is an unlikable soul who has no redeeming qualities. The book is basked in misery as a result is Rabbit’s indecisive, immature character and unfortunately he does not change.

Maybe read instead of listen

I don’t finish books I don’t like. So I liked it. A lot. If you’ll only listen to books, then definitely do it. If you mix it up with paper, I got the feeling there was a visual component I was missing.