John Updike, The Widows of Eastwick

The Widows of Eastwick

John Updike

Knopf, Oct 27 2008, $24.95

ISBN: 9780397269607

Having fled Eastwick, Rhode Island in the early 1970s when a rival for the affection of you know whom died; Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie each remarried and started over in different places. Having survived he who is nameless and their late second husbands, the widows decide to meet up at the place where the bewitching began; their home town.

However, two and a half decades have taken a toll on the once sexy flamboyant threesome. Instead middle age and senior citizenship leave them tired and incapable of witchcraft. However, the villagers loath the witches for all the malevolence and harm they did with magic; even their children want them to leave. They consider fleeing before they are burned at the stakes, but become involved in a bit of magic that goes astray.

The sequel to 'The Witches Of Eastwick' is a fascinating tale of late middle to old age as the three women have passed the bewitching age; magic is a young person's sport. The storyline starts off slow but steady as the audience accompanies the trio on overseas travel that showcases a dysfunctional world. The tale picks up when the threesome learn you can't come home especially when you caused havoc, mayhem and death the last time in town. Readers will enjoy the deep look at the aging process as the widows find their previous evil escapades come home to roost with them.

Harriet Klausner