Nemesis

 

Critics seem to agree that Philip Roth’s recent novels are disappointing compared to his more formally daring earlier work. I thought The Humbling was just that: the humbling of a great writer, stooping to writing well below his brilliant best, but I’ve liked Exit Ghost, Everyman and Indignation more than most readers whose views I’ve read.

Philip Roth
Jonathan Cape 2010, Hardcover, 304 pages, £16.99

Roth is keen on multi-book schemata, and we now discover that Everyman, Indignation, The Humbling and Nemesis itself belong to a group that Roth calls Nemeses. Of these, Nemesis has the most in common with Indignation. Again, Roth’s story deals with a young Jewish man in a historical context. In Indignation, it is the Korean War that dominates, whereas here it is WWII.

Full Abstract see nemesis-by-philip-roth