The Humbling
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Review
Siobhan Murphy, `Roth's late prodigious burst of creativity continues'. --Metro
Jason Cowley: `Roth ...knows no limits, which is part of the fun of reading him.' --New Statesmen
`We're Reading, `adds to his reputation as one of American literature's greats' --Times
'...these little masterpieces are coming out once a year, if not faster' --Literary Review
`His most savage and unrelenting work yet ... (Roth) has lost neither his voice nor his power to shock' --Sunday Herald
"witty and provocative" --Daily Mail
`Roth scores a palpable hit'
--Economist
`the great man of American literature still flashes with brilliance.' --Sunday Express
`told with the customary subtle, spare and beautiful prose that is Roth's mark' --The Tablet
`wonderful touches'
--Sunday Times
Jason Cowley: `Roth ...knows no limits, which is part of the fun of reading him.' --New Statesmen
`We're Reading, `adds to his reputation as one of American literature's greats' --Times
'...these little masterpieces are coming out once a year, if not faster' --Literary Review
`His most savage and unrelenting work yet ... (Roth) has lost neither his voice nor his power to shock' --Sunday Herald
"witty and provocative" --Daily Mail
`Roth scores a palpable hit'
--Economist
`the great man of American literature still flashes with brilliance.' --Sunday Express
`told with the customary subtle, spare and beautiful prose that is Roth's mark' --The Tablet
`wonderful touches'
--Sunday Times
Book Description
Another brilliant short novel by Philip Roth
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not so sure about this one Philip...,
By
This review is from: The Humbling (Hardcover)
Now, don't get me wrong. I am a MASSIVE Roth fan, but I've now read this novella through twice and still feel the same way: It's a bit, well, disappointing.
Yes, the plot is typically Rothian - old man, young woman, sex, disappointment, death. Yes, there are some spectacular shots at erotica and yes, the pace of the narrative holds no prisoners, but it just feels like a first draft, kind of empty and rushed and therefore a little shallow. From a hundred other authors I daresay it would be an accomplishment, but not from Roth. To be totally fair, the speed of the narrative can easily trick you into thinking it's exciting, placing it in the "sizzling page-turner" genre, but Roth is much more than that. Sorry Philip. When's the next one out?
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bare Boned Roth,
By The Outsider "Muso" (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Humbling (Hardcover)
For those of us who have read most, if not all, Philip Roth, the Humbling is not much more than a novella or three part short story about the humbling of 20th century men - first by self doubt and collapse of vitality, then by love, and finally by the tragic realisation that life and love are transitory. Roth chooses another reflection of himself - Simon Axler - an extrovert actor, not an introvert writer (who both live the lives of hermits!) - to be his protagonist. Women often skewer Roth as a sexist male, but he writes intimately from his own, male perspective as well as anyone.This book is guaranteed to offend the feminists, as Axler's nemesis is a younger lesbian who manipulates and uses him (and others) that he has known since birth.Much has been made of the sex scenes in the book, and they are particularly well written. Roth is obsessed by sex and death, and so is the story.
Though fluent and spare, the prose is involving. It's really a 70 page book and can be read in one sitting with ease. Roth has evolved a new style, part Hemingway and part old Roth, and there are few writers in English who can match him. Let the Nobel honour the unread Armenian and little known Cambodian poets - I'll take Roth, slim or fat, bare boned or brawny.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
For completists only,
By
This review is from: The Humbling (Paperback)
If you're a newcomer to Roth's work, avoid this book altogether. It does a disservice to an impressive and productive two decades of work from the man I consider to be America's greatest living author.
Roth enthusiasts may want to read it, if only to remind themselves this septugenarian is human after all, and does have off days, but brace yourselves. I found a few moments in this book embarrassing to read, and I'm 33, and far from prudish. Roth has tackled sex in a frank, and often explicit way before, but never this desperately. For the first time when reading one of his novels, I found myself thinking, "Enough, already!" It's an unfortunate misstep, coming between the excellent 'Indignation' and 'Nemesis'. Like Ian McEwan's 'Amsterdam', I've filed this away under "Great Writers Struggling To Meet Deadlines With No Enthusiasm", because that's the only excuse I can think of that makes sense.
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