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The Major Phases of Philip Roth by David Gooblar (review)

The Major Phases of Philip Roth by David Gooblar (review) | 135 the maJoR Phases of PhiliP Roth David Gooblar. New York: Continuum, 2011. 208 pp. When a writer has had as long and fruitful a career as Philip Roth, running now to some thirty books published over more than fifty years, it may be as impossible as it is natural for readers to seek a cohesive narrative of the work. What makes Roth's fiction Roth's? In The Major Phases of Philip Roth, however, David Gooblar boldly asserts that he looks for no coherence where there is none, choosing instead to follow the author's "self-conscious and deliberate zig-zag," in Roth's words, wherever it may lead. This admirable approach embraces Roth's multiple interests and fictional modes--from realism to postmodernism, from "Jew" to "American" as identities, from fiction to fact, from comedy to high seriousness. Yet the very project of identifying "major phases" presupposes finding some measure of both coherence and change, and despite the author's disclaimer, the resulting narrative in this book is most welcome. Gooblar's intelligent reading of Roth's work up to the turn of the century yields rich insight into the resonances and sources of the fiction, even while delineating distinctive patterns and preoccupations in Roth's style http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies Purdue University Press

The Major Phases of Philip Roth by David Gooblar (review)

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Publisher
Purdue University Press
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Copyright © Purdue University.
ISSN
1534-5165
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Abstract

| 135 the maJoR Phases of PhiliP Roth David Gooblar. New York: Continuum, 2011. 208 pp. When a writer has had as long and fruitful a career as Philip Roth, running now to some thirty books published over more than fifty years, it may be as impossible as it is natural for readers to seek a cohesive narrative of the work. What makes Roth's fiction Roth's? In The Major Phases of Philip Roth, however, David Gooblar boldly asserts that he looks for no coherence where there is none, choosing instead to follow the author's "self-conscious and deliberate zig-zag," in Roth's words, wherever it may lead. This admirable approach embraces Roth's multiple interests and fictional modes--from realism to postmodernism, from "Jew" to "American" as identities, from fiction to fact, from comedy to high seriousness. Yet the very project of identifying "major phases" presupposes finding some measure of both coherence and change, and despite the author's disclaimer, the resulting narrative in this book is most welcome. Gooblar's intelligent reading of Roth's work up to the turn of the century yields rich insight into the resonances and sources of the fiction, even while delineating distinctive patterns and preoccupations in Roth's style

Journal

Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies – Purdue University Press

Published: Oct 23, 2013

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