JOHN UPDIKE 1932-2009

John Updike in 2006

There's a quote that goes something like, "If you want to understand a country, read it's novels".  I know this is a bit simplistic and yet, in a lot of ways it's true.  In the same way that novels such as 'Like Water For Chocolate' or 'The House of  Spirits' help define the zeitgeist of turn of the century Latin America, Updike defined the ethos of mid-century America.  John Updike died today in Massachusetts of lung cancer.