David Blackburn

The art of fiction | 18 November 2011

The Charlie Rose show is a cultural treasure, provided you ignore the host. In this instance, the late John Updike talks about the art of fiction from the perspective of the character he is “measured against”, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom. In two and half minutes of candour, Updike reveals much about his method and how his most famous creation altered that method. Their relationship extended beyond the page and into Updike’s body and soul; he even admits that they transferred ailments. To all intents and purposes, Rabbit was real.

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