Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Nobel material, 16 May 2006
Every new Roth work prompts the same questions: how can he possibly maintain the standard which has marked the period dubbed by the Sunday Times his "late flowering"? And, has it continued?
Whatever may be the answer to the first question, those privileged enough to read "Everyman" will have no trouble answering the second in the affirmative. This prodigious literary heavyweight remains on fire, and now he uses the power of his prose to probe the undeniability of death, and, again, proves himself capable of taking the breath away with the sheer reach of his observations, most of which are voiced by his un-named, dying hero.
In the person of his latest fictional creation those returning to Roth will find familiar themes: New Jersey upbringing; an uncomplicated and revered older brother; some (porno)graphic scenes of past sexual adventures and, most strikingly, in the evocation of the lore of the family jewellery business, there is a shade of the colour which the Levov glove factory so memorably gifted "American Pastoral".
It is difficult to complete this triumphant novella and then to maintain quite the same attitude towards the normal daily chores of going to work, raising a family and, well, living, such are the insights offered. In earlier works, his reporting of the marital and extra-marital state and the pains and prizes of parenthood has been so unerring we cannot doubt the truth of those insights much as we might want to try.
This is Roth's "Seize the Day", only better. We know what that novella ushered in for Bellow. Let's hope the same follows soon for Roth
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
EVERY Man?, 2 May 2007
Every novel by Philip Roth of course deserves a very high rating for the compelling vigour of his writing, and this book is no exception. I have little to add to the excellent reviews that other people have already posted on Amazon about a dying man whose reflections about the past concern themselves with the times he has been in hospital, with his body which has increasingly let him down, with the ailments of his parents and of his contemporaries, and with the mess he has made of most of his personal relationships. All this is most graphically described, and some if it is not for the squeamish.
My only criticism - but it is a strong one - is of the title. Whilst of course every man will be confronted at the end with his mortality and while most will give that subject some, or indeed much thought, not every man reaches death after many years of ill health (after all, the character's elder brother Howie had enjoyed robust good health all his life); not every man mourns in his old age the passing of his zest for life, loses his curiosity and is bored by the company of his contemporaries; not every man messes up his life, is quite such a slave to his sexual drives, goes through three divorces and has sons who hate him (again Howie has a strong marriage and loving sons), and has to battle with the guilt for it. So this powerfully sad and moving book is excellent about a typically Rothian character, and there are many of them about; but you cannot extrapolate from them to Everyman.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
no regrets?, 1 Oct 2006
Makes one think twice about "live for the now!". Shows how a few lightly taken decisions can impact a life's outcome profoundly. The prose lets one see into introspection, without ever coming across as preaching but allowing you to get a real flavour of the leading character's deep regret for some of his actions. Has led me to become a real fan, now read 3 other Roth books and getting more.
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