The Centaur

Reading is something I always loved to do, but was never really that great at. For one, I'm not very fast. Depending on the subject and content, it could take me over a month to finish just one novel. I'm also pretty bad at concentrating, so I usually have to be reading in the most perfect of conditions. Finally, I go through phases where I'll read every night for a few weeks, and then take a break and not pick up a book for 5 or 6 months. In high school, just about the only books I read were Stephen King. I felt that I could usually follow his stories with little trouble, and enjoyed his demented mind. A few years ago I decided to tackle the Dark Tower series, and found I thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace from his usual writing style. The series consists of 7 books, some of which are upwards of six or seven hundred pages, so needless to say, it took me quite a while to finish. I finally finished book seven late last year, and decided to start broadening my horizons. I made a list of all the classic great novels I should be ashamed of not having read before, and got started earlier this year.

First on my list was a book I had owned about the time I started the dark tower series, John Updike's The Centaur. I've since read a few more books that were on my list, which I may cover in another post, but I wanted to talk about this one first.

Making such a transition from the writing styles of Stephen King, to those of John Updike was almost hopeless, at best, for a reader like me. Luckily, the book was interesting enough to grab my attention early on, otherwise I likely would have never finished it. Not only was the writing style so different, but the book touched on a bit of Greek Mythology (surprising, huh?), which turned out a bit tough for me to follow...but only at first. I really had no previous knowledge (well, aside from my Freshman English class) of Greek Mythology, but this turned out not to matter too much. The real story here is of the relationship between father and son. I found the story to be an almost painfully accurate account that I could draw personal experience from my own life, which considering the times, equated to somewhat of a melancholy retrospective. At the end, I won't say I was depressed, or troubled, but left contemplative and enlightened. It served as a sort of closed chapter to me.

I'll have to apologize for not really giving you any insight into the book. I can't really say I would even be able to explain, in any detail, the plot if I wanted to. Not that I do. I personally enjoy going into a book not knowing what to expect. I think what I was hoping to accomplish was to recommend a book that you may never have had the chance to read. I'm certainly glad I did, and it's currently sitting at my all time favorite book I've ever read.