"In The Beauty Of The Lilies"

In The Beauty Of The Lilies by John Updike

I'm trying to remember why I bought this book. I know I was interested in the authour, having heard good things but never having read anything of his before. And the title is a phrase from an old hymn, which has to be a good sign right?

I am in a quandary with this book. I'm half way through and honestly don't know if I want to finish it or not. I'm not really enjoying it. I find it too wordy, the sentences too long sometimes and not getting to the point without a lot of unnecessary description. Probably not the best choice after reading Hemingway, who says everything as simply as possible and seldom uses an adjective, which endears him to me no end.

I made myself read to the middle to give the book a fair chance, but now I have to decide if I'll keep reading or move on. This is not something I do very often; I hate not knowing what else happens to the characters and how it ends. But let's face it, there are a million books I want to read and I only have so many years left. I think what I'll do is read something else and then decide whether or not to finish this one. I'll try "Two Old Women" by Velma Wallis next. It's a book I found on Alibris, hard cover for $1.99. I do love Alibris.

I'll let you know what I decide about the Updike book.