Updike is probably best known for his so-called Rabbit series—novels having the same main character, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom. The first of these novels made Updike famous. The series was collected in a book called Rabbit Angstrom: The Four Novels: Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit at Rest (collected in 1995). Most reviewers believe that the Rabbit novels are Updike's best.

Phillip Roth is a contemporary of Updike and often compared to him. Roth's most famous novel is Goodbye, Columbus (1959), a story of romance and a clash of class and culture. Readers who would like to read a more recent novel with an older protagonist by Roth may want to try his Human Stain (2001).

Saul Bellow's work is often compared to the work of Updike. Bellow's Herzog (1964) is often referred to as the author's best work. It tells the...