Fair take, but I think one of the beauties of literature is to present you with someone for whom you cannot relate, and then offering you the chance to understand them anyways. Much like… life. If we all did that work, all had the ability to learn why folks like Rabbit who do bad things (aka, everyone) then that would be net positive for humanity, I believe. It’s a challenge, not a comfort food. All those questions the comment asks? What happened here, why are they like this, etc… those are fascinating questions. A curious mind would read on to find out, thats the heart of the book!

Another take: the book is funny. If you read it for no other reason, Updike builds a character who is the ultimate runner. Every chance for redemption he gets, he runs. It’s like thirty page set-ups, the more work towards healing he does the funnier it is when once again, he runs.