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Couples
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
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Publisher's summary
The provocative novel about sex in suburbia, striking in its complete sexual frankness and rightly praised as an artful, seductive, savagely graphic portrayal of love, marriage, and adultery in America.
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Critic reviews
“Couples [is] John Updike’s tour de force of extramarital wanderlust.” (The New York Times Book Review)
“Trapped in their cozy catacombs, the couples have made sex by turns their toy, their glue, their trauma, their therapy, their hope, their frustration, their revenge, their narcotic, their main line of communication and their sole and pitiable shield against the awareness of death.” (Time)
“Ingenious... If this is a dirty book, I don’t see how sex can be written about at all.” (Wilfrid Sheed, The New York Times Book Review)
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Based in part on Cheever's adolescence in New England, the novel follows the destinies of the impecunious and wildly eccentric Wapshots of St. Botolphs, a quintessential Massachusetts fishing village. Here are the stories of Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea dog and would-be suicide; of his licentious older son, Moses; and of Moses' adoring and errant younger brother, Coverly.
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From fat girl to thin, from red hair to mud brown, from London to Toronto, from Polish count to radical husband - Joan Foster is utterly confused by her life of multiple identities. She decides to escape to an Italian hill town to take stock of her life. But first, she must organize her own death.
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A Feminist Romp
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Jake couldn’t feel much sympathy for the woman who’d married his wealthy, despicable, sworn enemy. But now that she was embroiled in a child custody battle, he would help her - and relish getting sweet revenge against her ex.... Superstardom hasn’t helped Gavin get over his first love, or the way she inexplicably left him. When he returns to Taylor’s Crossing and finds himself facing her, his bitterness is impossible to hide.
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Trashy Romance Devoid of Mystery/Suspense
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What listeners say about Couples
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- LH
- 01-10-24
This book made me feel replete
I have not read any of Updike’s work before this but I will be looking for more. At times poetic, cynical, and poignant, this book to me read like a commentary on the human condition in middle class life - and I’m not sure all that much has changed. I have not read any analyses of this book but I would be interested to do so. It felt very candid and relatable despite having been written so many decades ago. Carefully crafted, and wonderfully narrated.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Mike R
- 05-27-21
Could not finish
I couldn't finish this book. It was very boring and drawn out. It takes pages to get to the point of a conversation that doesn't matter for the rest of the book. I was recommended this novel by multiple friends and am very disappointed I spent money on it.
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