Were he still with us, today would have been celebrated American novelist John Updike’s 80th birthday. One of our country’s best writers of any era (one of only three to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once), Updike is remembered not only for his prolific writing habits, solid storytelling, and concern with the drama of the middle class, but also for his wonderfully distinctive prose style — a lush, highly metaphorical and allusive interpretation of the realist tradition that sweeps you away and keeps you grounded all at once. Indeed, Updike famously described his own writing style as his way “to give the mundane its beautiful due.” In honor of Updike’s legendary style, we’ve put together a little quiz to test how well you know your famous writers. All of the following paragraphs were written by authors widely noted for the distinctiveness of their prose — and we’ve already given one away. Click through to test yourself, and let us know how you did in the comments! … Read More