The Music School

By John Updike

Book Overview

Hardcover. 8vo. Cloth in dust jacket. First edition, second state. Some sunning to dj, light discoloration to cloth at spine. Interiors overall clean and sound. Very Good +. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394437276
• ISBN13: 9780394437279
• Release Date: August 1966
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.1" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

An Uneven Collection

John Updike at his best is hard to beat. The brilliance-gem-like brilliance--- of his observatory powers dazzle me. His choice of words, the power of his phrasing all can leave me amazed. How could anyone write like that ? And at such a young age too. Certain stories in this collection from the 1960s took my breath away. "A Madman", about an encounter with an extremely eccentric Englishman on a first trip to Oxford not only captures the feel of Americans out of their culture, of English life, and the old ways of that university town, but also of all such encounters with persuasive crazies anywhere in the world. Unbelievably good. I loved the 1950s, small town feel of such stories as "The Indian" and "In Football Season", which will serve forever as memoirs of the atmosphere of even-now bygone times. The former, about Ipswich, Mass., close to home for me, resonates even more. "The Bulgarian Poetess" too struck a chord with me---the story of a love never taken up, a future glimpsed only through a door never entered. What a writer ! Yet I can't say that I liked all these stories unequivocally. Some of them seemed too much "insider" stuff, fit only for people who shared the same slice of classical knowledge that the writer carries. Others harped a little too dismally on the disappointments and futility of marriage, or the dubious pleasures of adultery---always, in Updike's view---the view of a reluctant puritan---a losing proposition which cannot really bring satisfaction to any party. Couples thrashing around in the sea of inevitability quickly become old hat; if they get nothing but pain out of it, why do they do it so often ? That may be his question too, but I don't think he answers sufficiently. Some of the stories seem to be rather self-indulgent, as if the author said, "You know, I can write a story about anything. Just name the most obscure topic or theme you can think of and I'll write you a story on it. Now watch this !" Cool, but will it have much meaning to others ? These are some of my criticisms. On the whole, though, this collection can provide both pleasure and interest. It is nearly forty years old, but only few collections written since then can equal it.

The Music School-- An Unlikely Surprise

Just before boarding a plane to England a friend of mine handed me a small hardcover edition of the John Updike book "The Music School". I knew nothing about Updike or his style but proceeded to open the book on the long flight. As I read I became more and more engrossed in the simple short stories that often brought a smile to my face. There were a few that I didn't particularly enjoy, but others such as the "Bulgarian Poetess", which I believe won the O. Henry Short Story award, was fabulous. Another that I enjoyed was the story "Twin Beds In Rome", a story about a failing marriage, which also has somewhat of a sequel in the book called "Giving Blood". After reading all these stories, I began a new love for an author that has been acclaimed for his unique style of writing. This is a must for any person who enjoys short stories and would like to get to know John Updike a little bit better.