He is sometimes even referred to as 'black Jesus.' The three form a commune of sorts, with both men becoming sexually involved with Jill and the three of them participating in substance abuse. Skeeter is a black Vietnam veteran and intellectual whose radical views verge on messianic. Not long after Jill moves in, her drug dealer, Skeeter, is on the run from law enforcement and moves in as well. Meanwhile, 13-year-old Nelson is smitten with Jill, treating her as his first love. Rabbit and Jill immediately start up a sexual relationship. Rabbit offers Jill a place to stay with him and his son, Nelson. The text implies that Jill has been selling herself behind the bar for drugs. There, he introduces Rabbit to Jill, a young, runaway hippie from an affluent Connecticut family.

Attempting to help Rabbit forget his relationship issues, Buchanan, one of Rabbit's black coworkers, invites him to a bar. Janice decides to leave Rabbit and their teenage son for Charlie. Janice meets a car salesman, a Greek man named Charlie Stavros, at her father's car dealership and the two begin an affair. Rabbit and Janice have been married for 12 years. Racial tensions, the Apollo Eleven moon landing, and the Vietnam War all occur outside his bored, humdrum existence. Set during the 'Summer of Love' in the 1960s, Rabbit is only vaguely aware of the cultural issues that appear on his television. He works at his father's company as a typesetter, an occupation which threatens to be rendered irrelevant with the advancement of technology. He sees himself as similar to his steadily declining hometown of Brewer, Pennsylvania. This novel takes place ten years after its prequel, Rabbit Run, in which Rabbit abandoned his marriage in pursuit of his past athletic career, then returned after his wife's fatal negligence of their second child. His glory days behind him and his marriage to Janice falling apart, Rabbit seeks out solace in drugs and cultural exploration. The second novel in John Updike's 'Rabbit' series, Rabbit Redux reintroduces former high school basketball star Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom in his middle age.

John updike rabbit redux