A review by ally_bur
American Pastoral by Philip Roth

challenging reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a book about disorder and its omnipresence in our world. Whether we like it or not, our society, families, and personal lives are full of disorder. Seymour Levov comes to find this out the hard way when his teenage daughter bombs the local store in protest of the Vietnam War, killing one person. The story unfolds in a stream of consciousness style with flashbacks and long tangents peppered into the unfolding of the narrative. At first, Roth’s methods were jarring and difficult, but I came to appreciate the ranting nature of the novel. I will say that I wish that the narrator at the beginning came back at the end. That first part of the novel seems worlds away by the end. 
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