‘He was satisfied, something extremely rare for any artist’
The Human Stain remains one of my all time favourite books for its sheer complexity and erudition – it is genius. The man was an extraordinary writer. I think the fact that he came to an end of writing is fascinating: he was satisfied, something extremely rare for any artist. I think in his case the satisfaction was justified. RIP Mr Roth, and thank you for an amazing body of work. onalongsabbatical
‘One of the most important writers of the 20th century’
Years ago, possibly the very early 1970s, I picked up Portnoy’s Complaint on a second hand book stall at a Catholic church at a very young and impressionable age. What a yarn – fortunately I had read most of it before the parents added it to the “forbidden” books, kept under lock and key! Little did I realise Roth would become one of the most important writers of the 20th century. With the advent of the internet, Portnoy seemed a rather obvious moniker for me. RIP Philip Roth. Portnoy58
‘As soon as I heard Roth had retired I decided to ration his remaining novels’
Back in the dying days of the last millennium, a friend and I both married ex-Communists. In one of those odd coincidences, Roth published I Married a Communist that year and, in the nature of things, my friend and I gave each other the hardback as our “surprise” Christmas present. Mine remained on the shelf unread until early this year. I read it in a day and then immediately went on a Roth binge starting with Goodbye Columbus and ending – so far – with The Human Stain.
Roth is one of those rare writers who reached his peak when he turned 60. The novels from Sabbath’s Theater to The Human Stain is one of the most exhilarating, funny, moving, perceptive series of works I’ve ever read. As soon as I heard Roth had retired as a writer I decided to ration his remaining novels to one a year; for the next several years I will have one more thing to look forward to when I get out of bed each morning. CosmoCrawley
Portnoy's Complaint (1969)
“Enough being a nice Jewish boy,” declares Alexander Portnoy, as he confesses the guilt-ridden mess of his life to his psychoanalyst. Fizzing with energy, sexual tension, and a whole lot of “whacking off”, it was an immediate scandal, an instant bestseller and made Roth a household name.
The Ghost Writer (1979)
Roth’s alter ego Nathan Zuckerman moves centre stage for the first time as he decides that the young woman he meets at the house of an eminent Jewish writer, EI Lonoff, is in fact Anne Frank. The panel selected The Ghost Writer for the Pulitzer prize, but were overruled in favour of Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song.
American Pastoral (1997)
At a high school reunion, Zuckerman is told the sad story of Seymour "Swede" Levov, the older brother of a former classmate. Roth explores the American political turmoil of the Vietnam war years, with Zuckerman reimagining the life of Swede, a promising young man who thought he'd achieved the American dream – until his life began to unravel around him.
The Human Stain (2000)
Another Zuckerman novel: here Roth's alter-ego observes as his neighbour Coleman Silk, a professor and dean at a nearby college, is accused of racism by two students and forced to resign his job after the subsequent uproar. Considered to be a (very) lightly veiled criticism of campus liberalism, the novel also considers sexual politics, with Silk beginning a relationship with an illiterate janitor working at the college while the US president Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal is dominating headlines.
The Plot Against America (2004)
What if the aviator Charles Lindbergh had been elected president of the US? Roth goes back to the 40s to imagine an America that never entered the second world war, signed a non-aggression pact with Germany and began persecuting Jews. Rooted in Roth’s Newark childhood, this fascistic takeover seemed utterly plausible in the wake of 9/11 and is ever more urgent in the era of Donald Trump.
‘He explored rage openly and let the reader decide’
A superb writer. He put desire under a microscope and not everyone liked what they saw. He explored rage openly and let the reader decide, rather than masking it and demanding acquiescence. He dealt in truth rather than sickly confection, and for this he will never be forgiven by those who throw out allegations and expect signed and sealed confessions of guilt by return of post with no possibility of defence – the real Nazis in our midst. (“Fascism does not prevent speech, it compels speech.” Barthes). prettyclueless
‘A legacy of work that will stand the test of time’
Quite simply a wonderful artist. He has left a legacy of work that will stand the test of time. For anyone starting out, the reward is to be found in the depth quality and quantity of different phases in his writing development. I’ve read all except maybe four books at this stage, and would recommend them for anyone. Rest in peace. Antics
‘I’ve never read a Roth book without stopping to gasp in admiration’
Nemesis is short, but utterly wonderful tragic art. His representation of the world of post war New Jersey in a hot summer is stunning. American Pastoral is another masterpiece of humanity and memory. The Plot Against America is so prescient, so much of its time that the fact it is set in the 1940s gives its warning against racist populism even more power. I’ve never read a Roth book without stopping to gasp in admiration. What a loss, but thank you Mr Roth for such glorious words. Francis Downes
