Out on the Marsh

This is David Updike's first book of short stories to date, having published five other children's books and another in collaboration with his famous Pulitzer Prize winning father. As you read each of these thirteen stories, one can see the correlation of events in his life in relation to his parents (whom the book is dedicated to) and his growing up in New England, Maine, and New York and share a deep sense of the fragility of human contact and the essential joys that result.FIRST IMPRESSIONS begins from the authors small room in New York City and one can't help but think of his famous dad working for the NEW YORKER at the time. His narration is marked by quiet humor and eloquent sensitivity as he describes his feelings of groping with a self understanding of himself and life. In the title story, a student confronts the inevitability of time as he suddenly realizes the effects of age on his closest childhood companion--yet he is only 21 years old. In WINTER, a young man learns about the breathless possibilities of romance only when his love affair seems to be turning into a memory; an unmarried couple fight a losing battle against public opinion in a charming village in DUE CAPPUCCINI.Being an avid John Updike fan since 1960, the name drew me more than anything to this book initially. After reading it, I can say that David Updike is an emerging but important new voice. His memoirs told in fictional short stories are his own and I look forward to more short fiction and possibly a novel? by Mr. David Updike. I couldn't put this book down. A solid four star.