Description

Book Synopsis
“Brilliant . . . Here is the conflict of real ideas; of real personalities; here is a work of intellectual imagination and great charity. The Poorhouse Fair is a work of art.”—The New York Times Book Review

The hero of John Updike’s first novel, published when the author was twenty-six, is ninety-four-year-old John Hook, a dying man who yet refuses to be dominated. His world is a poorhouse—a county home for the aged and infirm—overseen by Stephen Conner, a righteous young man who considers it his duty to know what is best for others. The action of the novel unfolds over a single summer’s day, the day of the poorhouse’s annual fair, a day of escalating tensions between Conner and the rebellious Hook. Its climax is a contest between progress and tradition, benevolence and pride, reason and faith.

Praise for The Poorhouse Fair

“A first novel of rare precision and real merit . . . a rich poorhouse indeed.”—Newsweek

 “Turning on a narrow plot of ground, it achieves the rarity of bounded, native truth, and comes forth as microcosm.”—Commonweal

The Poorhouse Fair

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    A Paperback by John Updike

    £13.60

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    RRP £16.00 – you save £2.40 (15%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Thu 1 Oct 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Ballantine Books Inc.
      Published 3/13/2012 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN-13 9780345468239
      978-0345468239
      ISBN-10 0345468236
      Also in:
      Books by John Updike

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      “Brilliant . . . Here is the conflict of real ideas; of real personalities; here is a work of intellectual imagination and great charity. The Poorhouse Fair is a work of art.”—The New York Times Book Review

      The hero of John Updike’s first novel, published when the author was twenty-six, is ninety-four-year-old John Hook, a dying man who yet refuses to be dominated. His world is a poorhouse—a county home for the aged and infirm—overseen by Stephen Conner, a righteous young man who considers it his duty to know what is best for others. The action of the novel unfolds over a single summer’s day, the day of the poorhouse’s annual fair, a day of escalating tensions between Conner and the rebellious Hook. Its climax is a contest between progress and tradition, benevolence and pride, reason and faith.

      Praise for The Poorhouse Fair

      “A first novel of rare precision and real merit . . . a rich poorhouse indeed.”—Newsweek

       “Turning on a narrow plot of ground, it achieves the rarity of bounded, native truth, and comes forth as microcosm.”—Commonweal

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