American Pastoral by Philip Roth

American Pastoral (American Trilogy, #1) (Vintage International)

by Philip Roth

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

Philip Roth’s masterpiece provides a piercing look into the promises of prosperity, civic order and domesticity in twentieth century America

‘Swede’ Levov is living the American dream. He glides through life cocooned by his devoted family, his demanding yet highly rewarding (and lucrative) business, his sporting prowess, his good looks. He is the embodiment of thriving, post-war America, land of liberty and hope. Until the sunny day in 1968, when the Swede’s bountiful American luck deserts him.

The tragedy springs from devastatingly close to home. His adored daughter, Merry, has become a stranger to him, a fanatical teenager capable of an outlandishly savage act of political terrorism that plunges the Levov family into the political mayhem of sixties America, and drags them into the underbelly of a seemingly ascendant society. Rendered powerless by the shocking turn of events, the Swede can only watch as his pastoral idyll is methodically torn apart.

Extraordinarily nuanced and poignant, American Pastoral is the first in an eloquent trilogy of post-war American novels and cemented Roth’s reputation as one of the greatest American novelists of the twentieth century.

‘Full of insight, full of sharp ironic twists, full of wisdom about American idealism, and full of terrific fun... A profound and personal meditation on the changes in the American psyche over the last fifty years’ Financial Times

Reviewed by thepunktheory on

2 of 5 stars

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To be honest, this novel was not quite what I expected. The actual plot of this book can be summarized in about 10 sentences without leaving anything out. Philip Roth's novel is not plot driven, it's a character study. We dive deep into Swede Levov's soul, learn where he comes from, what he's up to, why he decides the way he does. When his daughter plants the bomb and vanishes we still don't have the focus on her. It's all about the Swede, contemplating if the girl who did it is really his daughter.
Let this be a warning for you. Although American Pastoral had some interesting takes at some points, for the most part it was just dragging on. Especially the beginning almost made me quit the book! There are about 50 pages full of other people talking about the Swede before we even get close to the main character himself.
What really annoys me is when Philip Roth tries to make a point. Several times throughout the book I found myself thinking "I understand why he's describing this, but it still bores me to death". For example you get a very thorough inside in glove-making. Now I know more about gloves than I ever wanted to hear. That happened about 5 times...
So, although this book seems to be super popular, I have to say I didn't enjoy it. There may be some interesting points but also many clichés and simply annoying and boring parts that will make you want to throw the novel out of the window.
I had wished for something more going on, for more inside in Merry's mind.

Unfortunately I have to say this book annoyed me almost from the first page to the last. There are some topics that have potential to be interesting but ultimately Philip Roth loses himself in the thoughts of one man.

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  • 12 December, 2016: Finished reading
  • 12 December, 2016: Reviewed