Marry Me

By John Updike

Book Overview

From one of the most gifted American writers of the twentieth century--and the author of the acclaimed Rabbit series: a novel set in 1962 in Greenwood, Connecticut, where Jerry Conant and Sally Mathias are in love and want to get married, though they already are married to others.

A diadem of five symmetrical chapters describes the course of their affair as it flickers off and on, and as their spouses react, in a tentative late-summer atmosphere of almost-last chances. For this is, as Jerry observes, "the twilight of the old morality, and there's just enough to torment us, and not enough to hold us in."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039440856X
• ISBN13: 9780394408569
• Release Date: October 1976
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.7" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Sally and Jerry, Jerry and Ruth, Ruth and Richard, Richard and Sally

In the Updike oeuvre, MARRY ME is not unlike Couples and even Villages, as it explores infidelity and the search for happiness in Northeastern commuter towns. Like COUPLES, MARRY Me features thirty-somethings with young children who gather for weekend drinks and weirdly ecstatic volleyball. Like VILLAGES, it has a selfish and unfaithful male protagonist and even a wife in car accident. These books, like the RABBIT novels, share a lot--in this case, a sensibility, a suburban setting, and an underlying social vocabulary. They are somewhat different looks at the same jewel. In MARRY ME, there are many fine sections. For example, in the second chapter, "The Wait", Updike perfectly captures the frantic helplessness of trying to get on successive planes as a standby. Likewise, in the third chapter, "The Reacting of Ruth", there is an absolutely pitch-perfect picture of a family in crisis. But within these two chapters, there is also what I experienced as two mediocre plays. In "The Wait", this is the snippet conversations between the lovers Jerry and Sally. These alternate between confusion (deliberate by Updike) and empty rhetoric about love and fate (also deliberate). Likewise, in "The Reacting of Ruth" there is brilliant dispute between Jerry and Ruth, his wife, with Jerry often making exactly the perfect point to further or justify his position. But for me, these conversations were unreal in their hair-splitting precision. I'm not a professor. But it's my impression that in the mid-seventies, when MARRY ME was published, Updike, Roth, and other literary authors employed such dialogue. Here, these authors would create realistic social settings with believable dynamics between the characters. This was real. But then, their characters were mouthpieces, not for ideological purposes but so that the author could identify the subtleties in their actions and beliefs. Even now, some of Philip Roth reads this way, with Roth, basically, holding your face to his conclusions. What I'm saying is that this is a literary style that, in retrospect, doesn't look too successful. Similarly, the fourth chapter of this book, "The Reacting of Richard", also has the elements of a bad play, but for different reasons. In this case, Updike unwinds an affair, showing its angry consequences. Here, his story and interaction seem absolutely true. But this chapter is also only about this unwinding, with Richard, the cuckold, ranting, and others adjusting to his fury. In this case, the chapter has all the qualities of real life--that is, a situation dominated by a loud bore. After a while, it gets tiresome. Nonetheless, MARRY ME is an engaging book. This is because narrative is an art and Updike is definitely a master at involving his readers and getting them to turn pages. Actually, this is an attribute of Updike's work that I depend on. You see, whenever my reading is stalled, I pull a Flashman novel or something by Updike off the shelf. Somehow, Fraser and Updike ren

Marital dilemma (4.2 *s)

This book is remindful of the author's earlier "Couples," which too involved adulterous relations among suburban couples. However, the focus of this book is far more narrow involving only two families and is much more dialog intensive giving a clearer window into the full range of emotions experienced by these people. Jerry and Ruth Conant and Richard and Sally Mathias are thirty-something's with three children in each family. The focus of the book is the affair of Jerry and Sally. At times they seem certain of their love and eventual marriage. Yet others are involved for whom genuine affections exist and doubts continually arise, not only as to practicalities but also as to understanding their true and long-term feelings. Some of the scenes are lengthy and it is fair to say can be tedious. The dialog seems endless and repetitious, constantly reviewing the same points and feelings - and it all seems very realistic. The dialog really draws the reader into their dilemma. The book is really quite insightful concerning marriage in so far as it goes, but it is inconclusive. What to do when a seemingly better marital fit arises after many years is a subject far larger than one novel can solve.

Updike is the Expert of American Soul

An expert of marriage institute, exploring the deepest fears, anxieties. Very painful but necessary catarsis reading. Loved Updike from the very first book of stories I have read for his sad, thought-provoking writing, because the world is not like in a commercial, bright and beautiful, it is dark, sometimes ugly and painful. Interesting to see the USA: America where marriage is ideologically the center, but it is crashing under the cover of neat two-storey houses. "Marry Me" is a very Updike book that should be read for us to see our sufferings put in precise words.

Beautiful dialogue

This is my second Updike novel and I loved it. The story is typically Updike, with adulterous themes and enchanting prose. It's a story about a man struggling to decide which of two women in his life will make him happiest. One of the women is his wife, the other is his married neighbor. The characters are strong people who at times seem deeply moved by their circumstances, and at other times surprisingly passe. Updike is great at making the reader feel what the characters feel. I was angry, guilty, hurt and amused throughout this novel. I recommend this book highly