U and I: A True Story was published by Random House in 1991. Baker set himself a constraint: he would write an extended essay about his relationship with John Updike’s work — his admiration, his envy, his sense of influence and competition — without rereading any of Updike’s books. He would work entirely from memory, acknowledging his misquotations and distortions rather than correcting them.
The result is unlike any other work of literary criticism: it is about the experience of reading rather than the text itself. Baker remembers specific Updike sentences (sometimes incorrectly), recalls the physical circumstances of reading specific books, confesses his competitive anxiety (Updike has already written about everything Baker wants to write about, and better), and meditates on what it means to be influenced — to carry another writer’s sentences in your head as a permanent standard against which your own work is measured.
The book’s honesty about literary envy — the specific pain of reading someone who does what you do, only better — is unprecedented. Baker admires Updike without reservation and hates him for exactly the same reasons. The constraint of not rereading forces Baker to confront how memory transforms literature: we carry not books but fragments, impressions, misremembered rhythms that shape our own writing in ways we cannot fully track.
Collecting U and I
First edition (Random House, New York, 1991): Hardcover with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $30–$70
- Very good/very good: $15–$30
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
Fan Letter as Literature
U and I: A True Story (1991) is Baker’s book about his obsession with John Updike — not a critical study but an honest, funny, self-lacerating account of what it means to be a writer haunted by an admired predecessor. Baker deliberately avoids rereading Updike while writing the book, relying instead on his imperfect memories and fantasies about the older writer. The result is a unique hybrid: part literary criticism, part autobiography, part meditation on influence and envy. It is one of the most original books about the writer’s life ever published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Updike respond? Yes — Updike was reportedly amused and flattered, and he reviewed Baker’s work favorably. The two eventually met, and Baker’s account of the relationship between aspiring and established writer has become a touchstone for discussions of literary influence.