/lit/ - Literature

New Jersey

What do you anons think of this book? I'm loving it so far.

The perfect American novel.

>>18083374

Bought this. What am I in for? Also Philip Roth thread.

What did you think, /lit/? I just finished it, and I thought it was fantastic.

Sure, it’s a novel conciously trying to be a “great novel”, but it certainly justifies this well. Philip Roth is a great writer, and he’s at the peak of his career here; the prose is just great. He makes glovemaking fascinating!. The characters are well developed and complex, not totally really revealing themselves to the reader, and you’re left theorizing their many possible motivations. I really liked the postmodern elements, which stem from the fact that the actual narrator of everything, though it seems easy to forget, is Nathan Zuckerman, Roth’s alter ego, and we’re stuck with his perspective on the life of Swede Levov, and have to grapple with what is Zuckerman’s literary invention and what is the truth, which explains some weirdness. Chief among which is the character of Rita Cohen and whether she even exists or is a plot device by N.Z., either way some part of novel seems off, and on purpose. I like the uncertainty surrounding everything.

Admittedly the main plot line is cheesy as hell. Star HS football player whom everyone adores joins the marines, marries Ms. New Jersey, then takes over his father’s business, and starts his family and career. Then it all goes to shit when the political 60s kick in, his daughter gets swept up, and it all goes to shit fast. Here you can see when the novel is consciously trying to be “great”, in the sense of topic, but it pulls it off well I think, and if you read for plot you’ll get a kick out of it.

This is my fourth Roth book, after “The Ghost Writer”, “Goodby, Columbus”, and “The Plot Against America”, and it outshines them all in my opinion, and frankly it’s a new favorite of mine overall. I’d like to here what /lit/ thought if you’ve read it.

I have to read this for class. What am I in for?

>>12884483