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lindseysparks 's review for:
American Pastoral
by Philip Roth
Reading this was one of the most miserable reading experiences I've had. I stuck with it because it was a book club book and I have wanted to read it for a long time, so I didn't want to just give up on it.
While I found some of the themes interesting, but I felt like they have been better explored in other books. I was reminded a lot of The Great Gatsby, but that just made me wish I was reading it instead. It annoyed me that the narrator just disappeared and I found the writing style grating.
For some reason I had trouble separating the author from his characters, perhaps because I've read that the narrator is fairly autobiographical. After just 50 or so pages and for no clear reason I began thinking that Roth must not like women very much. I began reading up on him and this book and nearly every article mentioned accusations of sexism so at least it wasn't just me. He just comes across as a bitter old man.
I did think it was kind of funny that the narrator starts off making a few comments about regretting not having kids but then proceeds to tell a story about why having kids isn't always such a great thing. As someone who doesn't want kids I appreciated that.
While I found some of the themes interesting, but I felt like they have been better explored in other books. I was reminded a lot of The Great Gatsby, but that just made me wish I was reading it instead. It annoyed me that the narrator just disappeared and I found the writing style grating.
For some reason I had trouble separating the author from his characters, perhaps because I've read that the narrator is fairly autobiographical. After just 50 or so pages and for no clear reason I began thinking that Roth must not like women very much. I began reading up on him and this book and nearly every article mentioned accusations of sexism so at least it wasn't just me. He just comes across as a bitter old man.
I did think it was kind of funny that the narrator starts off making a few comments about regretting not having kids but then proceeds to tell a story about why having kids isn't always such a great thing. As someone who doesn't want kids I appreciated that.