Updike’s ‘Terrorist’ a Bomb, Says New York Times

The legendary author’s newest work focuses on a likable 18-year-old would-be suicide bomber. The N.Y. Times and, to a lesser extent, the Washington Post pan the book.

Reuters:

Novelist John Updike watched the first tower of the World Trade Center collapse, yet he speaks with affection of the idealistic Muslim teen-ager in his new novel “Terrorist” who plots to blow up a New York tunnel.

Reviews of Updike’s 22nd novel, to be published on Tuesday, have been good, though the sympathetic portrayal of the title character, 18-year-old Ahmad, sparks unease in some.

“To me it seemed like the most obvious thing in the world. Anybody can write a novel about an evil terrorist,” the Pulitzer prize-winning author said in an interview on Sunday.

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