European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Books Updike relieved after putting a Rabbit to rest Rabbit at rest by John Updike Alfred a. Knopf 512 pp., $21.95 hillelital1e associated press when John Updike finished a Rabbit at rest a he took a Large pile of newspapers used for research and threw them away. Enough was enough. The author wanted to finish this Book and forget about Harry a a Rabbit Angstrom. This a a Ordinary Man from Brewer pay a a speedy basketball Star in High school who lags painfully behind the adult world had haunted Updike for 30 years. The books were increasingly difficult to write burdened with telling new readers about old cd cols and providing new events for old readers. After four novels it was time to leave Rabbit behind at rest. Quot As i was writing it i was fully aware not Only of trying to make some sense to readers who Hadnot read the others but of trying to round out the series Quot said Updike 58. A there comes a time when you be used up your life if your life is allowed to run its natural course. He a reached it a Little earlier than Many of us and a Little earlier then 1 Hope to myself. He a had enough of the  the 1960s confused Harry the �?T70s depressed him and the �?T80s finish him off As he tries to Deal with his wife Janice and son  trek Saga boldly goes on Star trek prime directive by Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens pocket books 404 pp., $18.95 Ron Mckinney Scalf writer capt. James t. Kirk is at it again. The Sta ship Enterprise is disabled. His Crew has narrowly escaped death. A world is destroyed. And the Star Fleet command were pointing their collective fingers or other assorted alien digits at Star treks Maverick Mega hero Jim Kirk. They have found the Captain guilty of  a most sacred commandment the prime directive. The prime directive basically restricts first Contact with a new world until it achieves required technological breakthroughs. At minimum estimation the beings of the planet Talin arc not expected to be prepared for a first Contact for 20 1o 30 Standard years. And then the Enterprise became involved. The result a James Kirk you arc relieved of John Updike the books began in 1960 with a Rabbit run a Harry a nicknamed Quot Rabbit Quot but increasingly known As just Harry a is in his late 20s and going downhill. He a stuck in a dead end town out of shape bored with his Job bored with his marriage. While his wife is pregnant Rabbit runs a away. In a Rabbit re Dux 1971the astronauts Are walking on the Moon and Harry is Back crawling on Earth. When Janice leaves for another Man Harry shacks up with his son a teen age runaway called Jill and a Radical named Skeeter. A Rabbit is Rich 1981for which Updike won the pulitzer prize finds the angstroms Selling cars to a nation running out of Gas. Janice a father has died leaving behind a thriving business but Harry is As unsettled As Ever. He lusts for the wife of one of his country club friends and fights with Nelson who marries and becomes a father. Your command a chief Engineer Montgomery Scott tells his Captain. A and whatever gods there arc May they have mercy on your  in their second Star trek novel a Star trek prime directive a authors Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens have written another must read chapter of the Star trek chronicle. In their a Knowld gents they say they Drew on works by other writers the original television series and one of the More recent movies to keep the Saga historically accurate. Stripped of his Powers and removed from his friends Kirk must find a Way to return to Talin a the burning planet his critics have dubbed Kirk a world. There Are some questions that must be answered first including whether the old Crew could re form and work together to help Kirk solve the mystery of the destroyed world. Those questions Are Best addressed by the adversarial banter of Crew members or. Spock and or. Mccoy it shows that nothing has changed and that the Crew is ready for its new adventure. As for Kirk he is having trouble enough dealing with his own problems. Being the professional Sta ship Captain that he is Kirk manages to set aside his Manly Pursuit of one female lieutenant to concentrate on the Job. Later he a matched with a very Kirk like sex Sta Fleet officer. And nothing happens. Of course by then Kirk has his Tunnel vision finally in a Rabbit at rest a Prosperity has made Harry increasingly conservative and Blase. Rabbit is 55 years old now but seems considerably older. He has More or less handed Over Springer motors to his son and spends half the year in Florida where he passes the time hanging out at the country club and watching television. During a Sailboat Outing he has a heart attack and the episode leaves him with cardiac damage and an equally i remedial sense of spiritual fatigue. More and More now he allows Janice to manage the family affairs. When it is revealed that Nelson has been embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the Toyota business to support his cocaine habit Rabbit a drained of spirit Tan do Little but observe from the sidelines. It is up to Janice to straighten things out. Rabbits fear that his erratic heart will give out on him makes him cautious and fearful and the old existential worries that haunt him and every other Updike hero rapidly Blossom into a full blown obsession with mortality. Harry finally goes too far committing an infidelity too great for himself or his family to endure. With Janice demanding an explanation Harry again feels trapped out of space in need of escaping. With 100 pages to go Updike sets Rabbit free Back on the Highway As alone with his thoughts As the author hunched Over his typewriter moving with the precision and single mindedness of fingers tapping the keys. A it was not easy to write because in a not Good at parting a Updike explained. A but As i really approached the end and he was alone again away from All those people i Felt better. I Felt kind of cleansed. I Felt  As the last word of a Rabbit at rest states Updike has had enough. This review includes information from the new York times. The Book is available at stars and stripes bookstores. Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens aimed at Talin and setting the record straight for the Sta Fleet command. Kirk a inquest into Talino a demise reveals startling facts a the kind you would expect to find when you a boldly go where no Man has gone  dare to go. You la be glad you did. The Book is available at stars and strips bookstores. A Page 16 c to plus sunday november 11,1990