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Cannonball Read III: American Pastoral by Philip Roth

By caragwapa | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (6)

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This is my first Roth book, so I don’t really know Nathan Zuckerman. Apparently, he’s a recurring character in his books and is considered a stand-in for the author in his books. In this book, the story starts with Zuckerman and his hero worship of All American Golden Boy Swede Levov. Zuckerman was friends with the Swede’s younger brother when they were kids and the Swede was the guy everyone looked up to, because of his athletic prowess and his all around nice guy-ness.

Zuckerman meets Jerry (the younger brother) at their high school reunion and learns that beneath the seemingly perfect and ordinary life that the Swede led, was an event that destroyed his “perfectness.” His daughter, after a pampered childhood, grew up to become a home-grown terrorist, planting a bomb that killed the local doctor. Zuckerman then creates, based on these very basic facts that he knows, the story of Swede Levov, of his perfect normalcy and his eventual downfall.

It is not so much about the crazy-ass daughter and her actions. It’s more of how such action affected her parents and their lives. And the hanging question of how the fuck could such a thing happen to such ordinary, upstanding people? How could a Jewish businessman and athlete and a former Miss New Jersey have given birth to and raised such a weird, violent and unthinking girl?

I don’t know, the book was very American. American dream, American hang-ups. While the prose was engaging and thought provoking to read, I just thought is was so ragey! And it was so repetitive with the descriptions and exaltations of how awesome the Swede was.

I think that like The Corrections, I was able to enjoy reading the book and think I got it. I just didn’t GET it. It didn’t resonate with me. I was let a bit let down considering this book is so often called one of the best American books ever.


For more of caragwapa’s reviews, check out her blog, Cannonballer.

This review is part of Cannonball Read III. For more information, click here.









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Comments

I've read two Philip Roth, and I definitely don't 'get' him.

Posted by: fenchurch at April 13, 2011 11:17 AM

Never really got a feel for Roth either, though in all fairness, the only book of his I read was The Human Stain and I had just turned eighteen. I've been meaning to get round to reading American Pastoral for ages, but I can't quite seem to convince myself to pick up a copy.

I loved The Corrections, though.

Posted by: Zirze at April 13, 2011 1:23 PM

Wait...so...the book is about a home grown terrorist from the perspective of the unsuspecting parents?

Through the course of the book do you actually care about the parents? Or do you really just want them to shut up considering they come from the 'American dream?'

There's been a few TV shows that do home grown terrorists from a privileged upbringing. I don't understand them...I just end up wanting to smack their smug ass.

Posted by: DeistBrawler at April 13, 2011 2:12 PM

Unless you spend you life growing up around Jews in the tri-state area you're probably not going to "get" Roth.

Posted by: mcn at April 13, 2011 2:34 PM

MCN: I'm not Jewish, didn't grow up in the tri-state (though I live here now), and Roth's one of my favorites. I loved American Pastoral.

Posted by: samantha t at April 13, 2011 3:45 PM

I do not agree that you have to be Jewish/ living around Jews to appreciate Roth any more than you need to be an astronaut to appreciate films in space. What I love about PR is hat he sets next to each other the large with the small. We always have, certainly in his earlier to mid novels anyway, a great sense of history that we do not get lost in because we have individuals too we can identify with.

Posted by: rob richardson at April 14, 2011 8:09 PM