Reading the 20th Century discussion

We have lost two American literary giants in a few days, Tom Wolfe and now Philip Roth. I'll set up a separate thread for Wolfe.

Here is a link to a massive obituary for Roth in the New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/ob...

What books by Roth have you read, and which are your favourites? To my shame, I must admit that I don't think I've read any Roth, so what would be a good place to start?

The only one I have read is The Plot Against America, which is atypical as it is counterfactual history. I didn't like it enough to want to read more at the time.

I quite likd Nemesis, but I really was bored to tears by American Pastoral, which I read for my other book group.

I was interested to read, in that novel though, that the 'cool,' kids in American schools are sporty. In my school, sporty kids were looked upon with deep suspicion!

I've never read any Roth. Where should the novice start? And what should she expect?

I have read the same two as Susan, with a similar result.
From the limited evidence of those two books, I would say that he can't write credible female characters.
His early books are supposed to be funny and about sex, his later ones are about the country.

I didn't dislike him quite as much as Saul Bellow, but I don't want to read either again - ever.

I've only read The Plot Against America and it was fine. Not amazing, but good and an interesting idea.


Yeah, sporty kids were definitely the cool kids at my school. I had no idea that was just an American thing!

I think it might be an Australian thing too, but someone would have to confirm that.

12 writers on their fave Roth books....


https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

More love for Roth.....


https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

Starts like so.....

The legend of Philip Roth had become so great, it was almost a shock to be reminded that he was, until Tuesday, still a living writer. He had become part of the Mount Rushmore of American letters, hailed by the New York Times as “the last of the great white males”, his place secure alongside Saul Bellow and John Updike, themselves both long gone, as one of the towering figures of 20th-century American literature.

He had won every accolade, bar the Nobel, and in 2005 the Library of America announced it would publish Roth’s works, lifting him into a pantheon that included the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Walt Whitman, only the third writer ever to receive that honour while still drawing breath. Roth was of such an elevated stature that in dying, he seemed to be joining his peers.

I'm currently reading my first Roth...


Portnoy's Complaint (1969) by Philip Roth

It was infamous in its day due to it sexually explicit content and caused a big splash when published in 1969.

Only about 40 pages in and, so far, it's bit unrelenting but fine I suppose. Quotes on the back suggest hilarity. Low key amusing feels more accurate based on the opening.

The neurotic and Jewish Portnoy delivers one long monologue to his psychoanalyst. He hopes to reconcile his raging libido with his strict family background. At this stage in his story that means a lot of obessive teenage "whacking off". Not sure if this develops into something more. I expect so given the book's reputation.

The blurb...

The famous confession of Alexander Portnoy, who is thrust through life by his unappeasable sexuality, yet held back at the same time by the iron grip of his unforgettable childhood. Hilariously funny, boldly intimate, startlingly candid, Portnoy’s Complaint was an immediate bestseller upon its publication in 1969, and is perhaps Roth’s best-known book.

I remember liking Portnoy's Complaint when I read it but it was a long time ago and I don't remember much. I haven't read many of his but I've liked all that I have read. Quite recently I read The Counterlife and would recommend it highly.

Thanks Ang


I am into the last quarter now and, if Portnoy's Complaint (1969) is indicative of Roth's work, then he's not for me.

I’m finding this quite hard work.

Some sections are fairly interesting or entertaining but the majority is tedious. One long monologue that is both meandering and whiny. Portnoy’s Complaint? At least the title is apt. It’s one long complaint. Sadly I cannot summon much interest in his complaints about his family background and subsequent issues.

What was presumably shocking and groundbreaking in 1969 has not aged well. The cover suggests it’s “hysterically funny”. It’s not. Mildly amusing at best, and then only very sporadically. Predictably it also comes complete with the era’s unreconstructed and anachronistic social attitudes.

Still, there's time for some kind of ending which will render what I've read so far worthwhile

Here's hoping

I've finished reading my first Roth...


Portnoy's Complaint (1969) by Philip Roth

It's a miss

Dated and anachronistic

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

2/5

The only Roth I've read is The Plot Against America which I loved. The older books like Portnoy's Complaint have never appealed for the reasons you've identified - they seem very masculine in their outlook.

I gave American Pastoral 2 stars, so I felt much the same way... Mind you, I preferred Nemesis.

I loved American Pastoral and The Human Stain, but it has been 15-20 years since I read them. Many friends who read them on my recommendation complained they were verbose and over complicated, but that never bothers me if the words and images are doing something for me.