Hasenpfeffer Part III

"Rabbit is Rich" is the third of four "Rabbit" novels written by legend, John Updike. The hero of these novels, is Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom who now has some money in his life, thanks to his wife, Janice, and his mother-in-law, Bessie. How does Rabbit handle his wealth? Keeping up with his friends and neighbors, enjoying the country club life, buying a house, stereotypical trappings of the 1970's including couple swapping on a Caribbean vacation.

Harry has become the "Chief Sales Representative" of Springer Motors, his in-laws dealership. Harry also has the good fortune to be a Toyota franchise, which plays an important part in part IV, "Rabbit at Rest". The time is 1979 and gas lines, high petro prices are causing Toyotas to be very popular, strictly due to MPG. Janice is enjoying life, too, being a social butterfly around the Pennsylvania city of Brewer. The timeliness of the novel brings back memories of the Carter presidency, including gold priced at $800 an ounce!

All the fine life changes when Rabbit's son, Nelson, quits Kent State and moves back home. Nelson's relationship with Harry is love-hate for them both. The greatest symbolism throughout this novel, is the similarities between Harry and Nelson, some which both people are very reluctant to believe. Nelson's relationship with women are similar to Harry's in the first and second novels, "Rabbit, Run" and "Rabbit Redux". Harry becomes a grandfather in very quick order with Nelson disappearing, "on the run", immediately after the wedding and birth of their daughter. The only difference between the two is Harry's athletic and attached to the past and Nelson's more active to extreme sports and very attached to the present and future. This is where reading the first two novels is important, as you can develop the relationships and comparisons throughout.

Updike's style, is again, superb. While the plot is generic, with no great surprises which occur in the other three, his literary prose is the best. Updike is a true wordsmith, a classical writer, descriptive, while hiding the "reporting" aspects of many of today's authors. The novel provides an accurate glimpse of the late 1970's and early '80s, giving the reader a comparison to today's life. While all sequels have a tendency to be weaker than the original, and this is the case, still, it is no reason not to take the time to read all four. By reading Updike's series, in order, it gives you a respect to Rabbit's life and the pains and snapshot of living in America in the 1970's. Enjoy!