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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Beautiful read. Very sympathetic and humane but hits you like a freight train. Less vulgar but no less unsettling/devastating than the other Roth I've read.
A solid 3.5. I believe a conversation between brothers explains this story the best:
Seymour: “Everything is horrible!”
Jerry: “Now you’re getting it.”
The premise is so interesting and unique and the mystery of the first half kept me turning page after page. The third act REALLY slowed it down and the constant internal monologue deters from the plot.
I want more on Ms. New Jersey! She was my favorite part. Definitely lots of quirky characters.
Seymour: “Everything is horrible!”
Jerry: “Now you’re getting it.”
The premise is so interesting and unique and the mystery of the first half kept me turning page after page. The third act REALLY slowed it down and the constant internal monologue deters from the plot.
I want more on Ms. New Jersey! She was my favorite part. Definitely lots of quirky characters.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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
I cannot tell you how glad I am to have finally reached the last page of this book.
I just wanted a plot with a beginning, middle, and, yes, a resolution at the end.
Roth’s characters are well drawn, but I couldn’t tell what events actually occurred and which were fantasies. Was the subplot with Rita Cohen a series of actual events? Or just Roth showing how much he knew about glove-making? And what did the high school reunion scenes have to do with the story of Swede and Dawn and Merry? I understand that they formed a frame, but the frame was way too elaborate.
There is a very good theme here: how do parents of children who commit heinous crimes make sense of the event? How to reconcile the love you feel for your child with the monstrous acts your child commits?
The answer seems to be that you cannot.
And there’s a second good theme: what happens when a good guy (Swede), a guy who does everything right, suddenly has his perfect life upended by a daughters crime?
This question does get answered: he discards that tattered life and makes a new one.
The early scenes, centering on the high school reunion that eventually leads to the Swede story, resonated better with me than the Swede story itself. I really liked this (edited) sentence, from page 55:
“It’s no wonder that the shards of reality one person will cherish as a biography ... can seem to someone else to be a willful excursion into mythomania.”
I just wanted a plot with a beginning, middle, and, yes, a resolution at the end.
Roth’s characters are well drawn, but I couldn’t tell what events actually occurred and which were fantasies. Was the subplot with Rita Cohen a series of actual events? Or just Roth showing how much he knew about glove-making? And what did the high school reunion scenes have to do with the story of Swede and Dawn and Merry? I understand that they formed a frame, but the frame was way too elaborate.
There is a very good theme here: how do parents of children who commit heinous crimes make sense of the event? How to reconcile the love you feel for your child with the monstrous acts your child commits?
The answer seems to be that you cannot.
And there’s a second good theme: what happens when a good guy (Swede), a guy who does everything right, suddenly has his perfect life upended by a daughters crime?
This question does get answered: he discards that tattered life and makes a new one.
The early scenes, centering on the high school reunion that eventually leads to the Swede story, resonated better with me than the Swede story itself. I really liked this (edited) sentence, from page 55:
“It’s no wonder that the shards of reality one person will cherish as a biography ... can seem to someone else to be a willful excursion into mythomania.”
I love any novel that can fold open the "family" and force us to question our own definitions and conventions. Not to mention when it's coated in the syrup of Philip Roth's voice. He's wonderful.
In ciuda titlului, doar inceputul cartii poate fi privit ca fiind idilic, nu total, doar daca ne referim strict la amintirile scriitorului din copilarie. Este o carte premiata şi isi merita elogiile daca tii cont de ideea de baza, de scriitura, si daca faci abstractie de final care e tern. Poate deveni plictisitoare la un moment dat deoarece marseaza pe aceleasi idei la nesfarsit, vazute si analizate din puncte si unghiuri diferite pe masura ce apar informatii noi in poveste. Este o carte despre visul american si cat de usor poate fi zdrobit. Este despre decizii si atitudini, despre regret si vina, despre increderea pe care o acorzi oamenilor in ciuda tradarilor zilnice.
Seymour Levov pare a avea o viata perfecta sau cel putin asa a fost vazuta de narator, scriitorul Zuckerman care il idolatrizeaza din copilarie. Copil de evreu american, atipic, cu alura de viking (blond, inalt, ochi albastri), Seymour a fost un model pentru ceilalti toata viata: sportiv de top in liceu, veteran in razboi, casatorit cu o femeie frumoasa ce a concurat pentru Miss America, mostenitorul unei afaceri productive si tatal unui copil inteligent.
Problemele lui apar pe fondul razboiului din Vietnam si al discriminarii sexuale din acea perioada. Fiica lui, Merry, un copil inteligent si precoce devine din ce in ce mai revoltata de razboi si la 16 ani recurge la actiuni radicale. Merry pune o bomba intr-un oficiu postal din orasul natal, ucide un om si dispare. Tata ei este convins ca a fost manipulata si folosita de o grupare extrema. Cautand-o ani de zile, descopera noi informatii despre ce s-a intamplat atunci si priveste neputincios cum viata sa perfecta se naruie. Privind, peste fatada respectabilitatii, mizeria si ipocrizia ascunsa a oamenilor, Seymour ajunge sa-si schimbe perceptia despre realitate.
Seymour Levov pare a avea o viata perfecta sau cel putin asa a fost vazuta de narator, scriitorul Zuckerman care il idolatrizeaza din copilarie. Copil de evreu american, atipic, cu alura de viking (blond, inalt, ochi albastri), Seymour a fost un model pentru ceilalti toata viata: sportiv de top in liceu, veteran in razboi, casatorit cu o femeie frumoasa ce a concurat pentru Miss America, mostenitorul unei afaceri productive si tatal unui copil inteligent.
Problemele lui apar pe fondul razboiului din Vietnam si al discriminarii sexuale din acea perioada. Fiica lui, Merry, un copil inteligent si precoce devine din ce in ce mai revoltata de razboi si la 16 ani recurge la actiuni radicale. Merry pune o bomba intr-un oficiu postal din orasul natal, ucide un om si dispare. Tata ei este convins ca a fost manipulata si folosita de o grupare extrema. Cautand-o ani de zile, descopera noi informatii despre ce s-a intamplat atunci si priveste neputincios cum viata sa perfecta se naruie. Privind, peste fatada respectabilitatii, mizeria si ipocrizia ascunsa a oamenilor, Seymour ajunge sa-si schimbe perceptia despre realitate.