Terrorist

Terrorist, a post-911 work of fiction, is John Updike's 22nd novel; had I not read his name on the cover I would not have guessed, after reading it, that it was written by him. I looked forward to reading it as I do anything by Updike but this novel proved to be a major disappointment.
It is the story of homegrown terrorist, Ahmad Ashmawy Mulloy,the issue of a red-haired, green eyed, free-spirited mother and an Egyptian father who deserted the family when Ahmad was just a toddler. You'd never know that Ahmad was born and raised in America by an American mother or that English is his mother tongue. He spouts cliches that sound like they were drafted for a character in a cheesy movie-of- the-week ("The American way is the way of infidels."Really!).
Mum is a whiter-than-white, fun loving, strong willed Irish American lass. Joryleen, Ahmad's only friend, is a dark black girl who sings like an angel in the church choir and turns tricks like a devil at the behest of her pimp thug boyfriend,Tylenol (yeah,that's his name). Jack Levy, the burned out guidance counselor, is a stereotypical lapsed Jew. Levy's wife is fat. I suspect the frequent references to her weight are intended to make us feel revulsion for her and to empathize with Levy when he indulges in a bit of adultery. It didn't have this effect on me; I felt nothing for her, nor for any of the other characters.
Having been abandoned by his father and mostly neglected by his hedonistic mother Ahmad falls under the sway of an imam who leads him down a dangerous path. The story seems dreadfully contrived. Levy's sister-in-law works for a top security monger in Washington. She also has frequent phone conversations with her sister (Levy's wife). They just happen to talk about one of Levy's underachieving students who has recently graduated and is driving a delivery van for a Lebanese family. This shared piece of information sets off a series events and leads to Levy being in an explosive-laden truck with a terrorist, headed perhaps for annihilation, perhaps not. Frankly I didn't care. I just wanted the book to end.