The Witches of Eastwick may be Updike's most daring novel with regard to technique. Usually given to writing realistic fiction with only a hint of the surreal occasionally showing up through the dreams or fantasies of individual characters, Updike diverges significantly from his habitual patterns in this novel. The assumption on which the novel is built is that the three women about whom he writes are actually witches, with superhuman powers enabling them to affect the elements, change the course of natural events, and direct the actions of humans with whom they come in contact. He takes great pains to suggest physical similarities between Darryl Van Home, the principal male figure in the work, and the Devil; like the three women he seduces, Van Home is given the ability to affect both the forces of nature and the behavior of humans with whom he comes in contact.

Updike...