Comments on: Philip Roth: Teen Novelist?

By: Mark Flowers

Mark Flowers — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:54:21 +0000

@John – that’s a really good point, which I will have to give some more thought. I have definitely noticed that there is a certain dated-ness especially to novels of the 60s when authors were first starting to realize they could write frankly about sex, but it is something I have generally associated more with Updike and Mailer than Roth. But it’s been a while since I read Portnoy – you’re probably right. Certainly, it argues it favor of giving the later novels to teens first.

By: John Sexton

John Sexton — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:17:36 +0000

Thanks, Mark, for reminding me that Portnoy’s Complaint was THE book that got passed around among guys at my high school (although some would argue that The Godfather was THE book). I have never recommended Roth to teens, however, because of the issue of contemporaneity. There seems to be no quicker way to lose your reader’s advisory cred among teens than to suggest a novel that was popular for their grandparents; especially if its about sex, which it particularly tied to attitudes and mores of the time. I think it would be fun to have a book group read Portnoy’s Complaint and compare it to the film American Pie. In considering adult books for teens, even if the issues are as universal and timeless as those Roth presents, I put a lot of weight on contemporaneity

By: Diane Colson

Diane Colson — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:06:02 +0000

My favorite Philip Roth novel is “The Plot Against America” (Houghton Mifflin, 2004.) It’s an alternative history that envisions an America if Charles Lindbergh had defeated FDR for the 1940 presidency. History buffs will love the way Roth weaves factual characters into the fabricated political storyline. Also, the “micro” story is that of a Jewish American family, as seen through the eyes of seven year-old Philip. This accessible point of view invites teen readers to experience the dramatic political upheaval from a familiar vantage point.