905. American Pastoral

American Pastoral
Philip Roth
1997
Around 435 pages

Philip Roth is one of those authors whose works are always going to be heaped with literary prizes, regardless of the variance in quality. He just rubs me the wrong way, and seems like a pretty shitty human being. But I did enjoy this more than Sabbath's Theater, so that's something.

Our narrator is Roth's alter ego, Nathan Zuckerman, who has appeared in other Roth's works, although he hasn't been featured in any of our List novels. He attends his 45th high school reunion, which reminded me that my 10 year graduation anniversary came and went, and I haven't heard anything about it. If only Zuckerman's student council was similarly lax, we could have been spared 435 pages. Anyway, Zuckerman's former classmate Jerry Levov describes to Zuckerman the tragic life of his older brother Seymour, whose daughter was involved in a political bombing.

Okay, it sounds like I hated this novel more than I did. I actually like it when authors really get in the weeds of obscure professions, in this case, glove manufacturing. The themes in this novel didn't feel particularly groundbreaking, but American literary critics tend to eat them up anyway. And Zuckerman's presence in the novel felt more ego driven than necessary to the plot.

This is the novel that really seemed to solidify Roth as the great American novelist, but I still prefer my man John Updike. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.

Adapted to film in 2016.

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