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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mannnnn this book. I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy read, and it wasn’t. One month since I finished and I’m still processing. It was like an incredibly rich, robust dish that I could only swallow a few bites of at a time, and then had to take a break and digest. I did savor those bites immensely. The writing is beautiful and thought provoking. Despite being only 400-odd pages, it took me a few weeks to read.
Essentially, this book is a study of the frailty of the American Dream. Our protagonist, Seymour ‘The Swede’ Levov, is a WASP-passing Jew who on the surface, looks like he has it all - good looks, athletic prowess, a beautiful wife (ex- Miss New Jersey, no less), a perfect daughter and a successful business. But the layers are slowly peeled away as the book progresses, showing us tragic flaws in character and along with the Swede and his family, we are all left reeling with the disastrous events. Eerily relatable in 2025 too.
As a South Asian American first-generation immigrant myself, my personal experience is quite different from the Jewish immigrant family in the book, but I could draw several parallels. And believe it or not, I found the overbearing father Lou Levov very relatable (he’s not far off from the average Indian dad 😆) My favorite character was Jerry Levov, the Swede’s brother, by far - the phone conversation where he confronts the Swede and forces him to face his choices were some of the best lines in the book to me. Everyone needs a Jerry in their life.
American Pastoral is an uncomfortable read, even grueling at times. Almost every character is intensely unlikable (but it’s complicated). It’s unsettling, disturbing and sometimes overtly offensive. What I really liked about Roth’s writing is that he spoon-feeds us nothing. You, the reader, have to endure Merry’s screaming fits, Dawn’s mental breakdowns, Lou’s long rants and the Swede’s unraveling in their entirety - and draw your own conclusions. In the end, is who can be less reprehensible than the Levov’s, indeed? -Paraphrasing the fantastically cryptic last line of the book here.
It fell short of a 5-star read for me because Roth’s writing was very long-winded at times and I probably learned a lot more about leather gloves than I ever cared to know. But I will be exploring more of Roth’s work.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fascinating read. Felt like peeling back the layers of this man as you go, learning more about him bit by bit. I have so many unanswered questions. Excellent writing, it was so easy to get into his head and understand him. I want to know the REAL story, not this fiction that was created! (and get there's not even that, which is mind-boggling)
I want this to be 4 stars because I enjoyed the content. I liked the Vietnam era background and the discussion of capitalism vs communism. I liked the details of the glove factory. That said, it got long in the tooth. Too much time to set up the story with the Nick Zimmerman construct, it didn't even circle back to him. And too much of the Swede's though processes and self-justification. I don't think the ending really addressed the final issues of the characters. I am looking forward to the movie to see how it is put together on screen.
And it started out so well, too. I loved this book at the beginning, because I felt I could relate to the truly human characteristics in many of the characters. But then the writing got so tangential I couldn't keep track of the main character's thoughts. I quit relating and started slogging. I see why it's a classic, because it really does explore the nature of the American Dream, but not in a compelling way once past page 150.