Rabbit, Run is the book for which Updike is best known. Published in 1960, the novel gained notoriety for pushing the limits between acceptability and obscenity due to its amoral characters and graphic sex scenes. The novel offers a snapshot of three months of the life of 26-year-old Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, arguably one of the most unlikeable protagonists in the literary canon. Updike has described the novel as a response of sorts to Jack Kerouac's On the Road, demonstrating that those left behind will be hurt. Rabbit lives up to this idea: he bounces between his familial responsibilities and yearning to break free from the constraints of his life, eventually running away from his...
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