The glory of the mundane: Remembering John Updike
John Updike, who died January 27 at age 76, was one of the literary giants of our time. As I mentioned in my column in the February 10 issue (written before Updike’s death), I have read as much as I could of his work—ever since I saw him interviewed on television and heard him respond to a question about why religion and clergy appear so frequently in his writing. He said that he was a believer, that he sat in a church pew on Sunday mornings, and that he admired and was interested in the clergy because week after week they try to help people deal with ultimate questions.