20th Century American Literature - Post WWII - Literary Criticism, Jewish American Literature - Literary Criticism

Philip Roth

Name: Philip Roth
Author: Judith P. Jones
ISBN: 9780840068859

by Judith Patterson Jones, Guinevera A. Nance

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Overview

The serious, the comic and the satiric all mingle in the work of this major American novelist. Roth has enjoyed critical acclaim from the beginning and attracted a vast popular audience with the landmark novel Portnoy's Complaint. The reasons why are clear in this lively, comprehensive treatment of Roth and his fiction.

Jones and Nance deal first with Roth's personal life, and drawing upon a recent interview with the writer, but treating the public reputation as well. The authors then explore Roth's central theme of the individual's rebellion against stifling family constraints, paying particular attention to Goodbye, Columbus, Letting Go, When She Was Good, Portnoy's Complaint, My Life as a Man, The Professor of Desire, and The Ghost Writer.

Finally, they sum up Roth's importance as writer of fiction, literary critic, satirist, social observer, and masterful renderer of the vernacular. Philip Roth is unique for his ability to probe the American consciousness and reveal its fundamental conflicts.