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Content snapshot
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Violence
None
No violence
Language
Some
Some profanity; frank adult language
Sexual Content
Very heavy
Extremely explicit sexual content throughout; multiple affairs are depicted in graphic, extended detail
Substance Use
Some
Heavy drinking throughout; the couples' social life revolves around alcohol
Emotional Intensity
Some
Spiritual emptiness beneath suburban prosperity; the novel diagnoses adultery as a failed religion for the post-faith generation
What this book is about
In the early 1960s, ten couples in Tarbox, Massachusetts form a tight social group whose primary activity is elaborate, consensual adultery. Piet Hanema, a Dutch-born contractor, pursues Foxy Whitman while various couples swap partners at parties and on weekends. Updike's most sexually explicit novel is a detailed study of suburban anomie and the replacement of religion with eros. Controversial on publication for its graphic content.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Explicit sexual content throughout
Multiple extramarital affairs depicted graphically
Heavy alcohol use
Reader Verification
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