Monday, 14 September 2015

American Pastoral – Philip Roth



Another book that I’ve read as a modern-day hermit with no internet and TV (and a really old phone) in Bolivia this Christmas. I have already mentioned my weird love for American suburbia, and for Jewish North American writers. To this, we should add that Seymour Levov was the ultimate jock in high-school, something which I would have loved to be myself (and probably could have been) if only Italian high-schools had any focus on sports.

There is an annoying number of books about the downfall of the American dream, about the secret lives of perfect American families, and about the sadness of those who have always been portrayed as the epitome of happiness (all things that very often come to light, incidentally, during depressing high-school reunions). At the end of the day, this book is just about that – but it’s so much better than all the countless similar novels.  

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