Description
Let it be said, Philip Roth was never uncontroversial. From his first book, Roth scandalized literary society as he questioned Jewish identity and sexual politics in postwar America. Scrutiny and fierce rebukes of the renowned author, for everything from chauvinism to anti-Semitism, followed him his entire career. But the public discussions of race and gender and the role of personal history in fiction have deepened in the new millennium. In his latest book, Jacques Berlinerblau offers a critical new perspective on Roth's work by exploring it in the era of autofiction, highly charged racial reckonings, and the #MeToo movement.
The Philip Roth We Don't Know poses provocative new questions about the author of Portnoy's Complaint, The Human Stain, and the Zuckerman trilogy first by revisiting the long-running argument about Roth's misogyny within the context of #MeToo, considering the most current perceptions of artists accused of sexual impropriety and the works they create, and so resituating the Roth debates. Berlinerblau also examines Roth's work in the context of race, revealing how it often trafficked in stereotypes, and explores Roth's six-decade preoccupation with unstable selves, questioning how this fictional emphasis on fractured personalities may speak to the author's own mental state. Throughout, Berlinerblau confronts the critics of Roth -as well as his defenders, many of whom were uncritical friends of the famous author-arguing that the man taught us all to doubt "pastorals," whether in life or in our intellectual discourse.
About the Author
Jacques Berlinerblau is Rabbi Harold White Professor of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University and author most recently of Campus Confidential: How College Works, or Doesn't, for Professors, Parents, and Students.
Reviews
Despite long-standing attention paid Roth by literary critics, theorists, and commentators, The Philip Roth We Don't Know is a startlingly refreshing and astoundingly comprehensive intervention in the field known as Roth studies. Berlinerblau asks that we take the long view, one that is rich in nuance, vigorous in its attention to broader trends and experiences, and one that doesn't shy away from asking difficult, challenging, and even painful questions." - Jessica Lang, Baruch College of CUNY, author of Textual Silence: Unreadability and the Holocaust
"[A] fresh account of the literary legacy of the award-winning and controversial author.... Intriguing new perspectives on a contentious writer." - Kirkus Reviews
Book Information
ISBN 9780813946610
Author Jacques Berlinerblau
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint University of Virginia Press
Publisher University of Virginia Press
Weight(grams) 470g
The Philip Roth We Don't Know poses provocative new questions about the author of Portnoy's Complaint, The Human Stain, and the Zuckerman trilogy first by revisiting the long-running argument about Roth's misogyny within the context of #MeToo, considering the most current perceptions of artists accused of sexual impropriety and the works they create, and so resituating the Roth debates. Berlinerblau also examines Roth's work in the context of race, revealing how it often trafficked in stereotypes, and explores Roth's six-decade preoccupation with unstable selves, questioning how this fictional emphasis on fractured personalities may speak to the author's own mental state. Throughout, Berlinerblau confronts the critics of Roth -as well as his defenders, many of whom were uncritical friends of the famous author-arguing that the man taught us all to doubt "pastorals," whether in life or in our intellectual discourse.
About the Author
Jacques Berlinerblau is Rabbi Harold White Professor of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University and author most recently of Campus Confidential: How College Works, or Doesn't, for Professors, Parents, and Students.
Reviews
Despite long-standing attention paid Roth by literary critics, theorists, and commentators, The Philip Roth We Don't Know is a startlingly refreshing and astoundingly comprehensive intervention in the field known as Roth studies. Berlinerblau asks that we take the long view, one that is rich in nuance, vigorous in its attention to broader trends and experiences, and one that doesn't shy away from asking difficult, challenging, and even painful questions." - Jessica Lang, Baruch College of CUNY, author of Textual Silence: Unreadability and the Holocaust
"[A] fresh account of the literary legacy of the award-winning and controversial author.... Intriguing new perspectives on a contentious writer." - Kirkus Reviews
Book Information
ISBN 9780813946610
Author Jacques Berlinerblau
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint University of Virginia Press
Publisher University of Virginia Press
Weight(grams) 470g
