My copy of this novel is a gaudy movie tie-in on special for $2 from Elizabeth’s Secondhand Bookshop in Fremantle. The characters have the same name as the film, but really that’s where the resemblances finish.

 Three divorced women who get together to drink, cast small spells and compare adulteries are entranced by Darryl Van Horne, a rich bachelor newly arrived in Eastwick. Their wild times at his mansion come crashing down when he takes a young bride and his fortune proves to be illusory. The bride develops cancer after the witches cast a spell on her. Are they to blame?

 Updike’s novel isn’t primarily a supernatural one; it’s just a theme or background for what is yet another novel about adultery by middle aged, upper middle class Americans. But his prose is often beautiful and his insights sharp.

(I found a great review basically saying what I’ve just said except better: http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_updike_witches.html )

6/10