The 2016 (Vol. 13:3) issue of CS Canada’s Studies in Literature and Language features an essay on Updike by Quingzheng Liu, “Paradise Pursuit in John Updike’s Works.” 

Abstract: 
“In the “Rabbit” series and The Centaur, the disappearance of human ideal world and unpleasant work and daily life are revealed from different angles by the author Updike, in which their protagonists have been always pursuing an ideal, in order to get rid of the mediocrity and depression in their daily life. In this paper, the author discusses the thoughts and feelings towards the pursuit of human paradise.”