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Philip Roth fans

Then why bother posting in a thread about him if all you have to add is that you have nothing to add?

I've only read The Plot Against America and expected it to be in more of the style of Vonnegut.
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I don't know, I definitely see some of the same dark humour in Roth as in Vonnegut - I kept thinking of Mother Night when I read Plot Against America; they're very different novels, but there are similarities. Roth is probably the better writer of the two, though (and I say that as a lifelong Vonnegut fan).

Also, completely random observation: I was watching Ang Lee's The Ice Storm the other day, and there's a scene where Sigourney Weaver's character is shown reading Roth's When She Was Good. I must confess I havent read that one, but based on what I've read about it, it seems like a sly little nod to a common theme in both the book and the movie...

Also also, here's a pretty good guide to Roth for newcomers who do want to read him.
 
SFG75 said:
Correct me if Im wrong, but can't anybody edit an entry? I know they lock highly active entries(usually political in nature) but everything else is wide open as the wild west. I did have a good laugh though:



:lol:
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I'm never exactly sure what to make of a Wikipedia entry. I've seen some I would call marginal at best, where personal opinion was visibly coloring the facts.

:confused:
 
Roth announces retirement

He said that at the age of 74, he started re-reading all his favorite novels by authors including Ernest Hemingway, Ivan Turgenev and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and then re-read all his own novels

"I wanted to see whether I had wasted my time writing," he explained.

"After that, I decided that I was done with fiction. I no longer want to read, to write, I don't even want to talk about it anymore," he was quoted as saying.
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Oh well. That'll give me a chance to get through his back catalogue in peace.
 
Philip Roth

Hi folks.

Any Philip Roth fans on here?

I first heard him mentioned by former Doctor Who star Tom Baker when he was interviewed by sociologist and journalist Laurie Taylor on his programme "In Confidence".

I started with The Humbling and have now read The Ghost Writer, Nemesis and Portnoy's Complaint. I started American Pastoral but other books crept in so I lost the thread and need to start again.

What are your favourite Roth books and how did you hear about him?

I am from the U.K. and as far as I know he is not that well known over here, certainly not in Northern Ireland anyway. I certainly would notr have been aware of him if it weren't for Tom Baker.

After American Pastoral should I read Sabbath Theater, Goodbye Colombus or The Human Stain?

My one complaint about his books is that he should put a glossary at the back for all the Yiddish words he uses although I can usually tell by the context and by Googling them what they mean. In general I am able to read his books pretty quickly and find them compelling.
 
Andy.McKinney said:
Any Philip Roth fans on here?
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Don't know if I'd call myself a fan, but I've really loved a couple of books of his. (We already have a slightly misplaced thread on him here, mods are free to move it to this one...)

I've yet to dig into his pre-90s work, should have more time for that now that he's officially retired, but American Pastoral is easily one of the most solid American novels I've read. The Plot Against America is really good too, even if the ending lets it down a bit.

The usual recommendation I've seen if you like American Pastoral (and I've rarely come across anyone who doesn't) is to continue with I Married A Communist and The Human Stain, since they form a loose trilogy. That's where I'll be starting sometime next year, I think.
 
The most recent Roth I've read was The Plot Against America and I really enjoyed that piece of alternative history. I think Roth is a talented and interesting person, although I haven't enjoyed everything I have read of his. I think I first picked him up when I was trying to read authors in some "100 novels you must read before you die" list, or something like that.
 
American Pastoral by far the best for me -- very impressive! Portnoy's Complaint was just so much shlock, and tired stock (and vulgar) humor IMO. Human Stain next in interest when I get around to it. Skipped Plot Against America since that came out in the middle of the most virulent political slanders of the same ilk that I have ever heard during an election in the U.S. It seemed like Democratic party propaganda. Other Roth's I have read -- in the middle someplace.
 
I don't know how to quote people, so :
@ BG, Nice article, thanks for posting that. I agreed with the author regarding the plot against America, in that, after about ten pages you are really there. I am looking forward to American Pastoral. I think Roth is leaving some pretty big shoes to fill.
@ Peder, you should give that one a try. The times the novel are set in are so far removed from our current ones, that it really doesn't read like a political vehicle (which I don't think it is). It's just a really gripping, well written story. The ending wasn't what I expected, but I didn't think it was too bad.
 
753C said:
@ Peder, you should give that one a try. The times the novel are set in are so far removed from our current ones, that it really doesn't read like a political vehicle (which I don't think it is). It's just a really gripping, well written story. The ending wasn't what I expected, but I didn't think it was too bad.
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I'll grant you that he didn't write the novel as a political vehicle during that particular campaign -- so, it wasn't campaign propaganda. On the rest, I'll differ however. The time may be far removed, but the issues are still alive and well where I come from (New York). And gripping? Well it depends on how much of that "gripping" one has already heard and read. It's a tired meme/trope -- again, where I come from. I have, for exmple, been assured by a very serious person that inded "it can happen here." Still. Believe it or not as you will.

So, the book may indeed be as good as you say; I'm just worn out on the topic.
Sorry. :(
 
Sounds like you have been overexposed to the whole, "Government is going to put microchips in us and herd us into labor camps" mentality. I understand why you might skip the plot against America. I probably would too if I knew people like that. I'm the opposite. I thought we were a little hasty to rule out drone strikes on U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. I know some people I wouldn't mind nominating as test dummies. :)
 
753C said:
Sounds like you have been overexposed to the whole, "Government is going to put microchips in us and herd us into labor camps" mentality. I understand why you might skip the plot against America. I probably would too if I knew people like that. :)
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Sorry, you guess wrong. About me, and about New York.
 
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