Too Far to Go

Too Far to Go. This 1979 collection by acclaimed American author John Updike chronicles the protracted dissolution of a marriage through a series of interconnected short stories. Focusing on the suburban couple Joan and Richard Maples, the narrative traces their relationship from early promise through infidelity, separation, and eventual divorce over nearly two decades. The work is celebrated for its precise, empathetic examination of middle-class life and marital strife during the era of the Sexual Revolution, cementing Updike's reputation as a keen observer of American domesticity.

Plot summary

The book's narrative arc follows the lives of Joan and Richard Maples, a couple living in the suburbs of New York City and later New England. The stories, arranged chronologically, begin with "Snowing in Greenwich Village," depicting the early, hopeful days of their courtship and marriage. Subsequent installments, such as "Giving Blood" and "Twin Beds in Rome," detail the creeping disillusionment, mutual betrayals, and Richard's serial adulteries that erode their bond. Key moments include their awkward attempts at couple's therapy, Joan's own affair in "Your Lover Just Called," and the final, poignant stories "Separating" and "Here Come the Maples," which document the painful logistics of their separation and the official divorce proceedings in a Massachusetts courtroom. The collection is less a continuous novel and more a mosaic of pivotal scenes, capturing the quiet anguish and complex emotional negotiations of a family's unraveling against the backdrop of the changing social mores of the 1960s and 1970s.

Publication history

The stories comprising *Too Far to Go* were originally published individually in The New Yorker magazine between 1956 and 1976, establishing Updike's long-standing relationship with that prestigious publication. The decision to collect and sequence them into a single narrative was first realized for a television adaptation, after which the literary volume was assembled. It was first published in 1979 by Fawcett Crest as a mass-market paperback, a format choice that underscored its potential mainstream appeal. The collection has remained in print in various editions, often included in studies of Updike's major works like the Rabbit Angstrom tetralogy and Bech: A Book. Its publication history highlights the unique mid-century magazine ecosystem that nurtured American short fiction and the subsequent repackaging of such serialized work for a broader literary audience.

Adaptations

The most significant adaptation is the 1979 NBC television film of the same name, which aired as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology series. The production starred Michael Moriarty as Richard Maples and Blythe Danner as Joan Maples, with a screenplay by William Hanley. Directed by Fielder Cook, the film condensed the episodic stories into a linear narrative, earning critical praise for its faithful and sensitive portrayal of the source material. Both Moriarty and Danner received widespread acclaim for their performances, capturing the nuanced decay of the marriage. This adaptation was instrumental in bringing Updike's work to a national television audience and is often cited in analyses of literary adaptations from the era. The collection itself is sometimes described as a cinematic narrative in literary form, given its sharp, scene-driven vignettes.

Reception and legacy

Upon its publication, *Too Far to Go* was received as a masterful unified work, with critics in The New York Times and The Washington Post applauding Updike's unflinching yet compassionate autopsy of a modern marriage. It solidified his standing as a central figure in American literature, alongside contemporaries like John Cheever and Philip Roth, who also dissected suburban alienation. The book is frequently taught in university courses on American fiction and the short story cycle, often compared to other seminal works on marital discord such as Richard Yates's *Revolutionary Road*. Its legacy lies in its enduring, almost anthropological insight into the private conflicts of the postwar American middle class, serving as a defining literary document of its time. The Maples stories remain a touchstone in Updike's extensive bibliography, exemplifying his famed stylistic precision and his lifelong thematic preoccupation with love, faith, and domesticity.

Category:1979 books Category:American short story collections Category:Books by John Updike