2009年1月27日，美國作傢、美國全國圖書奬和普利策小說奬得主約翰·厄普代剋因肺癌在馬薩諸塞州去世，終年76歲。厄普代剋一生發錶瞭大量體裁多樣的作品，包括係列小說“兔子四部麯”“貝剋三部麯”以及一些短篇小說集、詩集和評論集等。其中，《兔子富瞭》和《兔子歇瞭》使他分彆於1982年和1991年兩度獲得普利策小說奬。厄普代剋被公認為美國最優秀的小說傢之一，他的文風對許多作傢産生瞭巨大影響

They meet by chance on Copacabana Beach: Tristao Raposo, a poor black teen from the Rio slums, surviving day to day on street smarts and the hustle, and Isabel Leme, an upper-class white girl, treated like a pampered slave by her absent though very powerful father. Convinced that fate brought them together, betrayed by families who threaten to tear them apart, Tristao and Isabel flee to the farthest reaches of Brazil's wild west -- unaware of the astonishing destiny that awaits them . . . Spanning twenty-two years, from the mid-sixties to the late eighties, BRAZIL surprises and embraces the reader with its celebration of passion, loyalty, and New World innocence. "A tour de force . . . Spectacular." -- Time "Updike's novel, as tender as it is erotic, becomes a magnificently wrought love story . . . . Beautifully written." -- Detroit Free Press "From the Paperback edition."