Romper.com today posted a list article by Lindsay Mack, “11 Books With Amazing Sequels, So You Can Keep On Reading,” and one of the 11 she selected was John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick and The Widows of Eastwick. In fact, they’re the first books on her list.
“John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick follows the adventures of three women who find themselves beset with amazing powers, as well as the interest of an intriguing newcomer to the town. And this bitingly humorous story continues with The Widows of Eastwick, in which the trio reconvenes 30 years later to come to terms with their pasts.”
And, one might add, aging . . . a frequent theme of Updike’s.
Also making her list: Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan; The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory; Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow and Children of God; Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease; The Shining and Dr. Sleep by Stephen King; Amitav Gosh’s Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke; Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You and After You; Gregory Maguire’s Wicked and Son of a Witch; War Horse and Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo; and Kent Haruf’s Plainsong and Eventide.