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Overview
"Brilliant . . . Here is the conflict of real ideas; of real personalities; here is a work of intellectual imagination and great charity. The Poorhouse Fair is a work of art."--The New York Times Book Review
The hero of John Updike's first novel, published when the author was twenty-six, is ninety-four-year-old John Hook, a dying man who yet refuses to be dominated. His world is a poorhouse--a county home for the aged and infirm--overseen by Stephen Conner, a righteous young man who considers it his duty to know what is best for others. The action of the novel unfolds over a single summer's day, the day of the poorhouse's annual fair, a day of escalating tensions between Conner and the rebellious Hook. Its climax is a contest between progress and tradition, benevolence and pride, reason and faith.
Praise for The Poorhouse Fair
"A first novel of rare precision and real merit . . . a rich poorhouse indeed."--Newsweek
"Turning on a narrow plot of ground, it achieves the rarity of bounded, native truth, and comes forth as microcosm."--Commonweal
The hero of John Updike's first novel, published when the author was twenty-six, is ninety-four-year-old John Hook, a dying man who yet refuses to be dominated. His world is a poorhouse--a county home for the aged and infirm--overseen by Stephen Conner, a righteous young man who considers it his duty to know what is best for others. The action of the novel unfolds over a single summer's day, the day of the poorhouse's annual fair, a day of escalating tensions between Conner and the rebellious Hook. Its climax is a contest between progress and tradition, benevolence and pride, reason and faith.
Praise for The Poorhouse Fair
"A first novel of rare precision and real merit . . . a rich poorhouse indeed."--Newsweek
"Turning on a narrow plot of ground, it achieves the rarity of bounded, native truth, and comes forth as microcosm."--Commonweal
| ISBN-13 | 9780345468239 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0345468236 |
| Weight | 0.36 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 5.42 x 0.47 x 8.23 In |
| List Price | $16.00 |
| Format | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Pages | 176 pages |
| Publisher | Random House Trade Paperbacks |
| Published On | 2012-03-13 |
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