S

Updike, John

ISBN 10: 0394568354 / ISBN 13: 9780394568355

Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1988

About this Item

244 pages. First limited edition, one (II) of 12 copies numbered and signed by Updike on the limitation page at the beginning of the book. His 32nd book and 13th novel. His take of "The Scarlet Letter" from Hester's point-of-view. As new full leather calf book in an as new slipcase. A beautiful copy!. Seller Inventory # 963777264283

Bibliographic Details

Title: S

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, New York

Publication Date: 1988

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: As New

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: Limited Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

S. is the story of Sarah P. Worth, a thoroughly modern spiritual seeker who has become enamored of a Hindu mystic called the Arhat. A native New Englander, she goes west to join his ashram in Arizona, and there struggles alongside fellow sannyasins (pilgrims) in the difficult attempt to subdue ego and achieve moksha (salvation, release from illusion). “S.” details her adventures in letters and tapes dispatched to her husband, her daughter, her brother, her dentist, her hairdresser, and her psychiatrist—messages cleverly designed to keep her old world in order while she is creating for herself a new one. This is Hester Prynne’s side of the triangle described by Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter; it is also a burlesque of the quest for enlightenment, and an affectionate meditation on American womanhood.
From the Trade Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover:

"A Tour De Force." -- The New York Times

"One of Updike's lightest, funniest, and sliest fictions -- a comedy about the sneaky economies of the spirit." -- The New Yorker

"Entirely satisfying and entertaining with a good half-dozen hilarious twists and surprises at the end for everyone...John Updike has given us with S., his 12th and funniest novel." -- Chicago Sun-Times

"Delightful and penetrating...[John Updike] is the chief chronicler of the life and times of the modern American middle class -- and perhaps its most important literary conscience." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Immensely clever...The novel glimmers with the wry intelligence one has come to associate with Updike's vision." -- The Boston Globe