Olinger

Olinger

Olinger, Pennsylvania is a fictional rural town in the southeastern part of the state that serves as the setting for several short stories and one novel (The Centaur) by American writer John Updike. It is based on Updike’s boyhood town of Shillington, Pennsylvania.

The small town’s residents are primarily of Protestant and German descent and many of them live in middle-class brick houses. Olinger is a suburb of Brewer, Pennsylvania (itself based on Reading) and it is home to a box factory and a hosiery mill.