A Month of Sundays is about sex. It is also about religion. When Tom Marshfield, pastor of an unidentified Midwestern church, can’t stop combining the two, his wife, curate, jilted mistress, and bishop intervene to send him to a desert retreat for wayward clergy.
During his month in exile, the Reverend Tom spends the mornings reflecting on his recent exploits and writing a journal with increasingly sermon-like focus, waiting for the bar to open at noon, a round of golf, and an evening playing poker with other fallen fathers.
Guarded over (and secretly read?) by a Nurse Ratchet-like matron, these journal entries start by recounting Tom’s tragic-comic affair with his plump organist – John Updike at his salacious best – move through a sexually rococo phase as Tom gropes his way through the female side of his congregation, and end with a series of increasingly theosophical, although doctrinally dubious, reflections on faith.
A Month of Sundays is not for the Updike newbie. But seasoned fans will find plenty to enjoy.
OTHER REVIEWS
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NOTES
This counts as my "calendar" book for the What's in a Name? Challenge and as another book for the Mt. TBR and Off the Shelf Challenges.
I've never gotten into Updike and have always suspected I might be missing a lot even though I don't always appreciated "famous" authors. Maybe I should put one of his books on my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteBarbara: I read the Rabbit books when I was working my way through the Modern Library's Top 100 list and I was hooked. Some people find them a little heavy going, or just too smutty, but I usually like his books. The Witches of Eastwick was not my favorite, but they can't all be home runs.
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