A Great American Novel
Neil Klugman – the hero of
Philip Roth’s novella – is a young librarian with mere tepid ambivalence
toward the American Dream. In 1950s America, God was a deity who wanted everything (including His
wars) hot or cold. He blessed His chosen people with the manna of commodity;
and expected them to “touch the clouds by standing on top of a refrigerator,
waving a paid-up mortgage at the moon.” But Neil Klugman was lukewarm,
undecided over upward mobility and empty consumerism, and utterly unsatisfied
with white American culture and its accompanying A-bomb apocalypticism.
Throughout the book, Neil interlopes in the Short Hills
suburb that exists exactly 180 feet of altitude above his own working-class,
ethnic neighborhood in Newark. Roth’s tale describes Neil’s “vacation” at his
girlfriend’s upscale home near the Orange Mountains west of Newark as her family prepares for the wedding of her brother
Ron, a fraternity-type from Ohio State. As comfortable as he grows during his stay in Short
Hills, Neil remains unconvinced by suburbia. A failed student of philosophy,
Neil works for the Newark Public Library, where his greatest concern is not
success, but to help a Black kid escape into the fantasies of Gauguin’s Tahiti.
With absent parents who have extended their Diaspora to Arizona, Neil lacks a real home. He lives in a cramped
apartment that belongs to “crazy” Aunt Gladys, who serves four dinners every
night.
Buy His Books!
Along with Goodbye Columbus, Roth has written a ton of great books, including these:
 | Everyman (Book)
Philip Roth's new novel is a candidly intimate yet universal story of loss, regret, and stoicism. The bestselling author of The Plot Against America now turns his attention from '...more
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (See the reviews)
List Price: $13.00
Lowest Used Price: $2.00 (as of 8/29/2008@10:51 PM)
Lowest New Price: $3.88 (as of 8/29/2008@10:51 PM) |
 | The Plot Against America (Book)
''What if'' scenarios are often suspect. They are sometimes thinly veiled tales of the gospel according to the author, taking on the claustrophobic air of a personal fantasia tha...more
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (See the reviews)
List Price: $14.95
Lowest Used Price: $0.99 (as of 8/29/2008@10:51 PM)
Lowest New Price: $3.75 (as of 8/29/2008@10:51 PM) |
 | American Pastoral (Book)
Philip Roth's 22nd book takes a life-long view of the American experience in this thoughtful investigation of the century's most divisive and explosive of decades, the '60s. Retur...more
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (See the reviews)
List Price: $14.95
Lowest Used Price: $3.49 (as of 8/29/2008@10:51 PM)
Lowest New Price: $5.40 (as of 8/29/2008@10:51 PM) |
A Vid from the movie
A clip from the classic movie from Roth's classic book.