He lost his appetite for reading. He was afraid of being overwhelmed again. In mystery novels people died like dolls being discarded; in science fiction enormities of space and time conspired to crush the humans ; and even in P.G. Wodehouse he felt a hollowness, a turning away from reality that was implicitly bitter, and became explicit in the comic figures of futile parsons.
The character in Updike's "Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories" experiences a profound disillusionment with literature that leads him to lose his desire to read. He is consumed by a fear of being overwhelmed by the dark themes and emotions he finds in various genres. In mystery novels, he sees the grim depiction of death, while science fiction presents vast, crushing forces that show the fragility of human existence.
Even light-hearted works,...