An intoxicating yet sensitive novel about the sexual experiences of ten couples from Tarbox, New England. Well-to-do, sociable, articulate but dangerously unfulfilled; they play word games in the evening and adultery all year round.
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An intoxicating yet sensitive novel about the sexual experiences of ten couples from Tarbox, New England. Well-to-do, sociable, articulate but dangerously unfulfilled; they play word games in the evening and adultery all year round.
Read Less
Add this copy of Couples to cart. $3.41, good condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 1975 by Penguin Books Ltd.
Add this copy of Couples to cart. $3.66, very good condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1975 by Penguin Books Ltd.
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Seller's Description:
Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading.
Add this copy of Couples to cart. $3.66, good condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1975 by Penguin Books Ltd.
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Seller's Description:
Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading. Damaged book. Slightly damaged in some way typically, a grazed corner or torn cover.
Add this copy of Couples to cart. $4.30, good condition, Sold by Anybook rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1968 by Andre Deutsch.
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Seller's Description:
This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. In good all round condition. Dust jacket in good condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 700grams, ISBN: 0233960740.
Add this copy of Couples to cart. $4.86, good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2001 by Penguin Books Ltd.
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Good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
Add this copy of Couples to cart. $4.94, good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2001 by Penguin Books Ltd.
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Seller's Description:
Good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
Add this copy of Couples By Updike, John ( Author ) on Feb-22-2007, to cart. $5.16, good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2007 by Penguin Books Ltd.
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Seller's Description:
Good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
Add this copy of Couples to cart. $6.12, good condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 1968 by Deutsch.
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Seller's Description:
Good. 1968. hardcover. Good hardcover copy showing light age and shelfwear. No dust jacket. Sunning to spine. Ownership details to ffep. Remains a nice reading copy with clean text throughout.....We ship daily from our Bookshop.
Add this copy of Couples (Penguin Modern Classics) to cart. $6.99, very good condition, Sold by Brit Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milton Keynes, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2007 by Penguin Classics.
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Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
Add this copy of Couples to cart. $8.18, new condition, Sold by Ria Christie Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Uxbridge, MIDDLESEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2007 by Penguin Classics.
John Updike once said that the thesis of his 1968 novel is that "sex is the emergent religion," and that point is rather heavy-handedly dramatized with the symbolic conflagration of the small New England town's church at the close of the novel.
Tarbox is the name of the town, and that too is overly freighted with symbolism as a place where exurban young marrieds come to settle, stall in their careers, feel a staleness in their marriages, and cannot escape.
Set in the early Sixties on the cusp of change, before and after President Kennedy's assassination, the novel does well as a tragicomedy of suburban manners--the bibulous dinner parties, the social cruelty of their parlor games, the afternoon basketball games, the neglect of children.
If the novel can be said to have a protagonist, it is Piet Hanema, a building contractor whose affairs are recounted with an astonishing scrupulosity. A critic has said that Couples is Updike's most Joycean book in its sexual candor, but it fails to measure up to the work of that modernist master, because Updike's vaunted prose style--part Flaubert, part Nabokov--falters at moments, and the novel feels airless and claustrophobic in a way Ulysses' encyclopedia capaciousness and prose parodies don't.
Updike's weakness, critic Wilfrid Sheed wrote, isn't too much beauty but "too much precision," and that seems right to me. At times in this novel, the author writes more like a clinician diagnosing a social malady than a novelist fully in love with his characters.
