Rabbit Remembered

Last updated
Rabbit Remembered
LicksOfLove.jpg
First edition (publ. Knopf) containing the novella Rabbit Remembered
Author John Updike
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Literary realism
Published inLicks of Love
Publication date2001

Rabbit Remembered is a 2001 novella (182 pp.) by John Updike and postscript to his "Rabbit" tetralogy. It first appeared in his collection of short fiction titled Licks of Love. Portions of the novella first appeared in The New Yorker in two parts under the title "Nelson and Annabelle". [1] [2] [3]

Plot

Set in late 1999, the story concerns itself with the interjection of Annabelle, the illegitimate daughter to the now deceased Harry Angstrom, into the life of his middle-aged son Nelson, now separated from his wife Pru. Other key characters from the Rabbit series appear: Janice, Harry's widow, who has married Harry's old nemesis Ronnie Harrison; Judy, Harry's granddaughter, now rebellious at nineteen, who plans to become a flight attendant; and his fourteen-year-old grandson Roy, with whom Nelson communicates via email. Nelson, who has moved back in with Janice and Ronnie, is working as a mental health counselor and is working to help Michael DiLorenzo, a young man with schizophrenia, cope with his mental illness. Nelson struggles with his separation from his family, financial strife, and memories of his father, while Janice grapples with aging, a second marriage, and the old-fashioned lifestyle she grew up with fading into obsolescence as the United States moves into a new age.

Annabelle, a few months after the death of her mother Ruth, appears at Janice's house to introduce herself. She explains that her dying mother revealed the truth of her parentage and encouraged her to seek out her relatives. While Janice is not particularly receptive to her, and Ronnie is hostile, Nelson enthusiastically welcomes the chance to get to know his sister. They have three lunches and get to know one another, and bond quickly. Nelson suspects that she was abused by her stepfather, who died when she was sixteen. As tensions between Annabelle and the family begin to abate, Nelson invites her to Thanksgiving dinner, but it goes badly when the conversation descends into politics and Annabelle clashes with Nelson's stepbrothers. Ronnie, who had an affair with Ruth before Harry did, asks Annabelle how it feels to be "the bastard child of a whore and a bum?" This remark enrages Nelson, who accuses Ronnie of jealousy of Harry, and prompts Nelson to move out of the house. Christmas is then marred by news of Michael's suicide, dispelling with finality the widely shared impression that his condition had been improving. Heartbroken, Nelson blames himself for his client's death.

Nelson's demeanor softens and he forgives Ronnie for his Thanksgiving outbursts. He also meets up again with childhood friend Billy Fosnacht, twice-divorced and plagued by anxiety and depression. As the new millennium approaches, Annabelle reconciles with Nelson's family, who shares with her their memories of Harry. Nelson, Annabelle, Pru, and Billy, see the film American Beauty on New Year's Eve 1999, but get stuck in traffic as the new millennium dawns. During the discussion that follows the film, Nelson, jealous of Annabelle's flirtations with Billy, pressures Annabelle into revealing that she was sexually abused by her stepfather as a teenager and that this is why she never married. Nelson's display of virtuoso driving in heavy traffic so impresses Pru that she asks to spend the night with him; Nelson moves back to Ohio with her and begins earning a living by counseling drug addicts. The novella ends with the hope that the marriage of Nelson and Pru may recover and that Annabelle may marry Billy.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Updike</span> American novelist, poet (1932–2009)

John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once, Updike published more than twenty novels, more than a dozen short-story collections, as well as poetry, art and literary criticism and children's books during his career.

<i>Franny and Zooey</i> 1961 novel by J. D. Salinger

Franny and Zooey is a book by American author J. D. Salinger which comprises his short story "Franny" and novella Zooey. The two works were published together as a book in 1961, having originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1955 and 1957 respectively. The book focuses on siblings Franny and Zooey, the two youngest members of the Glass family, which was a frequent focus of Salinger's writings.

<i>Rabbit at Rest</i> 1990 novel by John Updike

Rabbit at Rest is a 1990 novel by John Updike. It is the fourth and final novel in a tetralogy, succeeding Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; and Rabbit Is Rich. A related novella, Rabbit Remembered, was published in 2001. Rabbit at Rest won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1991, the second "Rabbit" novel to garner that award.

<i>Rabbit Is Rich</i> 1981 novel by John Updike

Rabbit Is Rich is a 1981 novel by John Updike. It is the third novel of the tetralogy that begins with Rabbit, Run, continues with Rabbit Redux, and concludes with Rabbit at Rest. There is also a related novella, Rabbit Remembered (2001). Rabbit Is Rich was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1982, as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 1981. The first-edition hardcover "rainbow" dust jacket for the novel was designed by the author and is significantly different from the horizontal-stripe designs deployed on the other three Rabbit novel covers. Subsequent printings, however, including trade paperbacks, feature the stripe motif with stock images of a set of car keys or an image of a late-1970s Japanese automobile.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a play written by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for the work.

Brewer, Pennsylvania is a fictional city that serves as the major setting for American writer John Updike's "Rabbit" cycle of novels. It is the center of the only fictional universe which Updike developed across multiple works, and symbolically represents his assessment of American culture from 1959 to 1999.

<i>Rabbit, Run</i> 1960 novel by John Updike

Rabbit, Run is a 1960 novel by John Updike. The novel depicts three months in the life of a 26-year-old former high school basketball player named Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, who is trapped in a loveless marriage and a boring sales job, and attempts to escape the constraints of his life. It spawned several sequels, including Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest, as well as a related 2001 novella, Rabbit Remembered. In these novels, Updike takes a comical and retrospective look at the relentless questing life of Rabbit against the background of the major events of the latter half of the 20th century.

<i>Hooking Up</i>

Hooking Up is a collection of essays and a novella by American author Tom Wolfe, a number of which were earlier published in popular magazines.

<i>Rabbit Redux</i> 1971 novel by John Updike

Rabbit Redux is a 1971 novel by John Updike. It is the second book in his "Rabbit" series, beginning with Rabbit, Run and followed by Rabbit Is Rich, Rabbit At Rest, published from 1960 to 1990, and the related 2001 novella, Rabbit Remembered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anjanette Comer</span> American actress

Anjanette Comer is an American actress.

<i>In the Beauty of the Lilies</i> 1996 novel by John Updike

In the Beauty of the Lilies is a 1996 novel by John Updike. It takes its title from a line of the abolitionist song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." The novel received the 1997 Ambassador Book Award for Fiction.

<i>Too Young to Die?</i> American TV series or program

Too Young to Die? is a 1990 television movie starring Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis. It touches on the debate concerning the death penalty. It is based on a true story. Three years later, Pitt and Lewis would reunite, portraying somewhat similar characters, in Kalifornia.

The Mitchell family is a fictional family in EastEnders. They were first introduced in February 1990, when brothers Phil and Grant Mitchell bought the local garage, the Arches. Their sister Sam was introduced later in 1990, and their mother Peggy shortly after in 1991, before being reintroduced as a regular character in 1994, with the role recast to Barbara Windsor. Since then, they have been significantly expanded to include both the immediate and extended families. Phil has been the longest running Mitchell on the show, and the family has expanded significantly in the years since, remaining a large presence on the square.

<i>Rabbit, Run</i> (film) 1970 film by Jack Smight

Rabbit, Run is a 1970 American independent drama film directed by Jack Smight. The film was adapted from John Updike's 1960 novel by screenplay writer Howard B. Kreitsek, who also served as producer. The film starred James Caan as Rabbit Angstrom, Carrie Snodgress as Rabbit's wife Janice, and Anjanette Comer as his girlfriend Ruth. The movie co-starred Jack Albertson as Coach Marty Tothero, Arthur Hill as Rev. Jack Eccles, and Henry Jones and Josephine Hutchinson as Rabbit's parents.

<i>Annabelle: Creation</i> 2017 American supernatural horror film

Annabelle: Creation is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg, written by Gary Dauberman and produced by Peter Safran and James Wan. It is a prequel to 2014's Annabelle and the fourth installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise. The film stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, Anthony LaPaglia, and Miranda Otto, and depicts the possessed Annabelle doll's origin.

Elizabeth Updike Cobblah is an American art teacher and ceramicist, painter, and illustrator in Massachusetts. She is the eldest child of author John Updike, and was the model for several of his characters. She is married to Tete Cobblah.

<i>Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel</i>

Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel is a collection of 12 works of short fiction and a novella by John Updike. The volume was published in 2000 by Alfred A. Knopf.

“Ace in the Hole" is a work of short fiction by John Updike that first appeared in The New Yorker on April 9, 1955. The story was collected in the volume of Updike's fiction The Same Door (1959), published by Alfred A. Knopf.

References

  1. Updike, John (2000). Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN   0-375-41113-5.
  2. Updike, John (2 October 2000). "Nelson and Annabelle". The New Yorker: 88–103.
  3. Updike, John (9 October 2000). "Nelson and Annabelle". The New Yorker: 62–81.