In these five new episodes in the life of John Updike`s perennial character, Henry Bech, now 70, is still a skirmisher in the literary world wars--this time literally, as in one story he hunts down and kills critics who have damned is books. Astonishingly, he is also the winner of the Nobel Prize--something which, so far, continues to elude his creator. This is Updike`s third collection about his maddeningly lovable Jewish alter ego. A New York Times Notable Book for 1998. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.