The return to John Updike's famous character Harry Angstrom, better known as Rabbit, occurs after a gap of ten years from the previous book. Rabbit, now definitely past his prime, has lost his athleticism, his sex life, and the excitement he once sought. Sex is a very central subject in Rabbit Redux; the book's main conflict occurs around it, and the characters often reflect on it. For each, sex means something unique, and the feeling …showed first 75 words of 1400 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1400 total…The two meet up and rent a motel room, undressing once inside but allowing their exhaustion to overtake them. Lying together in a friendly way, the two feel a marital bond return as they share sleepy banter and platonically touch one another. Considering the abundance of superficial, meaningless sex that has defined the book's previous happenings, the non-sexual love showed by husband and wife in this closing encounter believably establishes the restoration of their devotion.