S. is the story of Sarah P. Worth, a thoroughly modern spiritual seeker who has become enamored of a Hindu mystic called the Arhat. A native New Englander, she goes west to join his ashram in Arizona, and there struggles alongside fellow sannyasins (pilgrims) in the difficult attempt to subdue ego and achieve moksha (salvation, release from illusion). “S.” details her adventures in letters and tapes dispatched to her husband, her daughter, her brother, her dentist, her hairdresser, and her psychiatrist—messages cleverly designed to keep her old world in order while she is creating for herself a new one. This is Hester Prynne’s side of the triangle described by Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter; it is also a burlesque of the quest for enlightenment, and an affectionate meditation on American womanhood.
From the Trade Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover:

"A Tour De Force." -- The New York Times

"One of Updike's lightest, funniest, and sliest fictions -- a comedy about the sneaky economies of the spirit." -- The New Yorker

"Entirely satisfying and entertaining with a good half-dozen hilarious twists and surprises at the end for everyone...John Updike has given us with S., his 12th and funniest novel." -- Chicago Sun-Times

"Delightful and penetrating...[John Updike] is the chief chronicler of the life and times of the modern American middle class -- and perhaps its most important literary conscience." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Immensely clever...The novel glimmers with the wry intelligence one has come to associate with Updike's vision." -- The Boston Globe

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Mail-order bookseller at: PO Box 720, Nevada City CA 95959. My physical address for UPS etc is 15321 Wet Hill Road, Nevada City CA 95959; book orders may also be mailed to this address. Used, rare, out of print. Books available in all categories. However, only a small fraction of my book inventory is listed online so far. Monday through Saturday 10:30am-5:30pm. Besides selling books, I have written, edited, illustrated (art & photos), designed, and published numerous books. My author's credits include several travel titles including "Vagabonding in Europe & North Africa" and "Vagabonding in the USA," a tarot deck called the "William Blake Tarot of the Creative Imagination," and a book of poetry entitled "Sacred Southwest Suite."

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Ed Buryn Books
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