Under the header “Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science” blogger Andrew Gelman (andrewgelman.com) posted a think piece on “Irwin Shaw, John Updike, and Donald Trump” that begins with the writer’s admission that he read both the Shaw and Updike biographies (by Michael Shnyayerson and Adam Begley, respectively) and a lamentation that “very few people actually read” the latter.

“John Updike was a master of the slice of life and also created one very memorable character in Rabbit. . . . One thing Shaw did have was a combination of emotional sympathy, real-world grit, and social observation. . . .

“Updike and Shaw had different career trajectories. Updike started at the top and stayed here. Shaw started at the top and worked his way down. . . . From my perspective, Updike redeemed himself by writing a lot of excellent literary journalism. As they got older, both Updike and Shaw reduced their output of short stories, maintaining the high quality in both cases.

“Speaking of John Updike, if he were around today I expect he’d’ve had something to say about those rural Pennsylvanians who voted for Donald Trump. Being a rural Pennsylvanian. And John O’Hara, as a Pennsylvanian, and Roman Catholic, and an all-around resentful person: he wouldn’t had something to say about Trump voters from all those groups. . . .”