read everything by Philip Roth

To call The Breast Kafka-esque would just be stupid. Of course it is. A man turns into a 155 lb giant breast.

I did not want to read this book for years, but it is a slim volume, interesting, and utterly empty of real emotion. Once the the cover was closed and I dropped the book back on my “return to library” pile I thought no more about it.

More a novella than a novel, Goodbye Columbus is a solid first effort by Philip Roth.

American Pastoral
I Married a Communist
The Human Stain
The Plot Against America
Portnoy’s Complaint
Everyman

What’s Next: Operation Shylock

Roth is one of America’s best novelists. I don’t think I’ll go in sequential order, except for the Kepesh trilogy, but I need to read more Roth.

I first encountered Philip Roth through a film and lit course I took my sophomore year. We read his novella “Goodbye Columbus” and then watched the movie. I read a lot, but am not usually moved or touched or anything so middle America cliche as that, but this one got to me. It was just such a depressing take on love (and at such a young age), but it didn’t feel depressing for the sake of being depressing, it was earned.
So far, I’ve read “Goodbye Columbus”, “The Human Stain” and am quickly making my way through “The Plot Against America”. After that I’m going to go back and try to read his work in sequential order.