Biblio File

Book Notes From The Underground: An Open Letter To Philip Roth

Philip Roth

First of all—happy birthday! So now you have turned, what is it now… 83? Eighty-three years old and nearly four years into your “retirement.” How is that going, by the way? The “not writing?” How do you fill your day? Perhaps you wake up in the morning and studiously walk past your desk and have a cup of coffee while you read the paper (very thoroughly these days, since you have all the time in the world to do it). After that, you probably map out your day. What will you do to fill the time? I’m told volunteer work can be very fulfilling. Perhaps you could volunteer at your local library. You could help someone use the online catalog, or better yet, you could re-shelve books; and as you push the cart down the aisle I can imagine a small ironic smile cross your face as you place a copy of Goodbye, Columbus back on the shelf.

I’m worried that I may sound like I’m mocking you, but honestly I’m not. Who am I to begrudge a person wanting to take it easy in the golden years of his or her life? You should do whatever it is that will make you happy, even if it means that your fans will no longer have a new Philip Roth novel to read every year. Did that sound like I was trying to guilt-trip you into writing again? Believe me, I’m not. I am not here to mock you, guilt-trip you or even harangue you online to increase your output, as some of George R.R. Martin’s fans are wont to do. But I (being a fan) shall miss looking forward to a new Philip Roth novel. No more late masterpieces like Sabbath’s Theater; no more incisive memoirs like Patrimony: A True Story; no more Zuckerman novels; and no more books that made me laugh as much as I did when I read Portnoy’s Complaint.

I read that book when I was an impressionable twenty-something and I always wondered if it was just a book written by a young man for young men. So just recently, with great trepidation, I pulled my old and battered copy off the shelf to re-read it—to see if it stood up to my memory of it (and really, my memory of it 30 years later consisted solely of “that was a hilarious book,” a novel way to use a piece of liver, and a note pinned to a boy who hanged himself). Well, I’m happy to say that the book more than lived up to my expectations. The entire book , a brilliant, searingly self-lacerating monologue that explores what it is to be a Jew in modern America, is a masterful high wire act . Do you have to be a Jew to “get” it? No, I don’t think so. I’m not Jewish, and I got it (a small caveat—I grew up as an Italian Catholic, which to some people is right next door to being Jewish). Do you have to be a man to enjoy it? Well, female characters were never your strong suit, but my wife also read Portnoy’s Complaint and she enjoyed it immensely. In fact, she read it several years ago while commuting on the subway and she was approached several times by men who wanted to engage her in conversation when they saw what she was reading. I guess for a bookish man, seeing a beautiful woman reading (and enjoying) Portnoy’s Complaint is too good to be true.

Since re-reading Portnoy, I’ve felt a little better about your decision not to publish any more. I can always re-read your other books, right? I loved Sabbath’s Theater as well, so I can start with that. And to be perfectly honest, I have not read your entire oeuvre (a word I learned to use at some wine and cheese party I once attended) . Despite the best of intentions, I still haven’t gotten to Our Gang, The Counterlife, Nemesis, as well as a few others. So go ahead Mr. Roth—enjoy your retirement. Enjoy walking your dog around the neighborhood; enjoy taking that painting class you were always too busy to get around to; enjoy a weekend trip to Boston where you can follow the Freedom Trail and learn about how our great country formed. Enjoy all of that because I still have a few books of yours to read. However, in a year or two I’ll probably be all caught up. And then I may ask you again how your retirement is going.

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Thanks Wayne Hellman

Thanks Wayne Hellman

Roth post

You're welcome.