Toward the End of Time
by John Updike
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Book Summary Information
Author: John UpdikeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-08-25
ISBN: 0449000419
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Toward the End of Time
Book Review: A Postmodern fastasy worth reading
Summary: 5 Stars
Told in the first person by various narrators including an Egyptian grave robber, Saint Mark, an Irish Monk at Lindisfarne, a Nazi guard in Poland, who are previous incarnations of the main character, Ben Trunbull a retired stock broker who lives in Boston, the story takes place in 2020 right after the Sino-American war which destroyed the governments of both countries. The Federal Express has taken over the functions of government and moved the capital to Memphis where it has its headquarters. Fedex collects protection money, but Ben likes this new way of doing things better since Fedex payoff is far less than the tax bite used to be when the US bureaucracy ran the show. The dollar has inflated out of existence and the de facto currency is the Welder issued by 13 Boston banks and named in honor of a former governor of Massachusetts. The narrative is postmodern and tentative. For example, at one point Ben is urged by his screaming wife, Gloria, to shoot the deer eating her hedge. He shoots Gloria instead and then takes up with a prostitute named Deirdre. Deirdre leaves Ben because he is "too dull." After that Gloria returns. Ben tells us maybe he didn't kill her after all. Maybe she was just away to a convention for gift shop owners. The narrative then continues where Gloria left off. If you haven't seen Lola Runs, a German film narrated with the technique, you should. Toward the end of time was panned and praised by two different reviews in the NY Time. Since a book can not be both good and bad (or can it), wonder which review is correct. You know where I stand with my five star rating. Read it yourself and let me know where you stand.
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