Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel is a collection of 12 works of short fiction and a novella by John Updike. The volume was published in 2000 by Alfred A. Knopf.Carduff, 2013 pp. 948-958

The novella included in the collection entitled Rabbit Remembered, is a sequel to Updike's four previous novels that feature his literary invention Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom.Scott, 2000

Stories The stories first appeared in The New Yorker, unless indicated otherwise.Carduff, 2013 p. 955-956: Note on the Texts And: The Note section does not record "His Oeuvre", but the story appears in the 2000 Borzoi Book edition.

"The Woman Who Got Away" (October 9, 1995) "Lunch Hour" (December 18, 1995) "New York Girl" (April 1, 1996) "My Father on the Verge of Disgrace" (March 10, 1997) "The Cats" (December 9, 1996) "Oliver’s Evolution" (Esquire, April 1998) "Natural Color" (March 23, 1998) "Licks of Love in the Heart of the Cold War" (The Atlantic, May 1998) "His Oeuvre" (see footnote above) "How Was It, Really? (May 17, 1999) "Scenes From the Fifties" (Penguin Books, July 1995 in A Collection of Stories—Penguin's 60th Anniversary box set.) "Metamorphosis" (August 9, 1999)

Novella Rabbit Remembered

Reception

In the short stories comprising Licks of Love, Updike is preoccupied with "themes of loss", based on reminiscences from his youth and middle-age—often recounting "blue-remembered infidelities."Brooks, 2001: See here for quoted material, "loss" and "infidelities."Scott, 2000: "More often, though, Updike uses eros as a window onto the past…"

Film and cultural critic A. O. Scott, writing in The New York Times, comments on the key thematic element that characterizes this short fiction:

Describing the short works as "ghost stories", literary critic Xan Brooks writes:

Brooks adds: "In terms of technique, this curious, twofold creation can't be faulted. Updike still writes with his usual easy grace, demonstrating his casual mastery at piloting a narrative. But the whole thing is coloured by a strange lack of rigor and ambition."Brooks, 2001

Footnotes

Sources Brooks, Xan. 2001. Rabbit Stew. The Guardian, March 17, 2001. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/17/fiction.johnupdike Retrieved 20 March 2023. Carduff, Christopher. 2013. Note on the Texts from John Updike: Collected Later Stories. Christopher Carduff, editor. The Library of America. pp. 948–958 Scott, A. O. 2000. Still Wild About Harry. The New York Times, Books. November 19, 2000. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/19/reviews/001119.19smcgt.html Retrieved 6 March 2023.