Witches of Eastwick by John Updike

I recently reread Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. In 1987 there a movie very loosely based on this book was made with Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jack Nicholson. The movie has little in common with the novel. In the movie the witches seem to be sort of acidental witches. They are witches on purpose in the book. In the movie they conjure up the character played by Jack Nicholson. The novel starts with his appearance as he buys a house in Eastwick. The character played by Cher is called Alex in the movie, and in the book she is called Lexa. The characters of the witches are stronger in the book than they are in the movie. They are a bit more malevolent in the book too. Some characters are combined in the movie, but that is not unusual. One thing that I find annoying in the book is a frequent reference to the way in which one of the witches pronounces the letter "s" and how she drops the letter "r" at the end of words. What becomes to the character played by Jack Nicholson at the end of the movie is very different than what he does at the end of the book. He is done away with at the end of the film, but at the end of the book he runs away with one of the novel's character. The point is made too many times. The movie is a fun piece of light entertainment, but the book has more weight. I like both in different ways.