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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
A tragic infant death is depicted; domestic violence is threatened; the novel's consequences are brutal
Language
A lot
Pervasive profanity and crude language throughout — characteristic of Updike's naturalistic style
Sexual Content
A lot
Explicit sexual content throughout; women's sexuality is depicted from a male gaze with period-era frankness
Substance Use
Barely any
Significant alcoholism in a central character; social drinking throughout
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Strong psychological content: the novel's portrait of an irresponsible man's damage to everyone around him is relentless; a tragic infant death near the end is devastating
What this book is about
Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom — a former high school basketball star now working a dead-end job with a pregnant, alcoholic wife — walks out one evening and keeps going. Updike's landmark novel follows the consequences of Rabbit's selfish, confused flight with merciless clarity, culminating in a tragedy that refuses to spare anyone. Sexually explicit, linguistically frank, and psychologically unflinching, Rabbit, Run is one of American literature's most honest portraits of masculine restlessness and moral failure.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Explicit sexual content throughout
Pervasive crude language
Accidental infant death — a disturbing scene
Protagonist commits no redemptive acts; the novel offers no comfort
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