I didn't expect to feel sad at the conclusion of this. However, after reading four novels, with each one delving deeper into the character, progressing from approximately 300 pages in the first to nearly 500 in the last, I've spent a significant amount of time with Harry Angstrom. So, when this particular book brought his story to an end, I experienced a tinge of sadness.

It is indeed an achievement to write about a character essentially from birth to death. And a great deal of Rabbit's story encompasses all the ordinary details of small-town life - watching TV, knowing the same people throughout one's life, and never truly venturing beyond one's familiar routine. So, in a sense, Rabbit remained somewhat of a jerk until the very end. And that's what struck me. Updike does a remarkable job in this book, gradually closing the chapter on this character.

In this installment, he finally attempts to run away and almost succeeds. But, just like in the first book, he never really knew where to go.

There were numerous emotions evoked in this novel. Some parts truly made me burst out laughing, while others left me feeling anxious. Rabbit is still difficult to empathize with, but at least a great deal of his behavior is put into context. There are also plenty of the usual cringe-worthy moments - seriously, the Japanese character has to speak in a manner similar to a Krusty the Clown skit - but I feel that these books imparted a great deal of wisdom.

And that wisdom is - don't be like these people.

That took me some time.

I have to be in an exact state to get into and care for Mr Rabbit's life. It's not an easy task as it requires my full concentration and dedication.

When I finally manage to achieve that state, I am rewarded by an exact and in-detail lovely state of reading. It's like entering a meditative aging state, where I let the hours pass, let the end get nearer, and let the human race rave on.

I am just there, existing side by side with another imperfect human being. It has its nice moments, when we share a connection and understand each other. But it also has its not-so-nice moments, when our imperfections clash and cause misunderstandings.

Overall, it's a complex and interesting experience that makes me appreciate the beauty and the challenges of life.

A moving conclusion to the forty-year journey of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom is presented in this book. It meticulously charts the physical decline of a character who isn't exactly easy to sympathize with, yet one we have come to know well in the previous three "Rabbit" novels. I firmly believe this is the best among the four (or five if we include the piece that appeared in The New Yorker) from years back. The reason being that it handles the issues of old age and physical decline in such a deeply sympathetic manner. Updike can be quite a harsh critic when it comes to sex. He doesn't possess the same sex-positive approach as Erica Jong or Henry Miller. However, I think that decrepitude and death are the subjects that truly engage him. It offers a very moving portrait of a man who might be too American for his own good. In my humble opinion, this is Updike's best book.

Updike truly did an outstanding job with the Rabbit books!

Right up to the very last word of the fourth and final book, he managed to create a world where Rabbit's life is not exaggerated but rather an exact replica of reality.

Rabbit doesn't complete the last book he attempts to read. He can only concentrate on reading 10 pages at a time, yet he has an inkling of how it will end. It's a book about Washington and the Revolutionary War that his wife Janice gave him.

In "Rabbit at Rest," Harry still overeats and consumes all the wrong things for his ailing heart. He remains a ladies' man and can't seem to get enough of their company. He is almost programmed for infidelity, yet he still loves his somewhat plain wife, Janice, who has finally found herself.

Death looms large on every page of this novel, but it never suppresses Rabbit, who forever remains young, lanky, and blond. I absolutely love this novel and the entire series.

Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, and of course Updike are all incurable lovers of life. Richard Ford is now joining their ranks with his series about Frank Bascombe. All of this is great literature. These men never tire of living or of the ladies!