Controversial Pulitzer Prize winner John Updike loses battle with cancer
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Author John Updike has died aged 76 (Photo by David Levenson/Getty Images)
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By Nico Hines in New York
Wednesday Jan 28 2009
John Updike, the American novelist and man of letters, has died aged 76.
Updike was a rare literary writer with enough cross-over appeal to feature regularly in the bestseller lists.
He was renowned for his stylistic writing that encompassed fiction, poetry, essays, journalism, memoir and playwriting and was best known for his series of novels based on the character Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom. 'Rabbit is Rich', published in 1981, received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
He died of lung cancer, according to a statement released yesterday by his publisher, Alfred A Knopf. He lived in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, with his second wife.
Updike was a controversial figure, labelled a misogynist, racist and an apologist for the establishment during a tempestuous career but his searing wit ensured that his writing, remained enduringly popular.
He published more than 50 books in a career that started in the 1950s.
The greatest acclaim was reserved for the 'Rabbit' series, a quartet of novels published over a 30-year span that featured ex-high school basketball star Harry Angstrom. (© The Times, London).
- Nico Hines in New York
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