Philip Roth

In this episode, Tete and Fortunus talk about "The Counterlife" by Philip Roth, one of Fortunus' favorite novels that Tete also read a few years ago.  We talk about how our views of this metafictional novel have changed since we first read it back in 2016 and how it explores the following themes: The nature of writing as a writer Using writing as a way of conducting thought experiments Siblings whose lives branch off and contrast one another Characters as amalgamations of ourselves and people in real life--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/fortunus-games/message

A wide-ranging interview about how biography gets done, both authorized and unauthorized, with Nadel’s subjects, Leonard Cohen & Philip Roth, and more.

Accusations of sexual assault against Philip Roth's biographer, Blake Bailey ... Laura's early negative review of the biography ... How Bailey justified Roth's mistreatment of women ... Aryeh worries about an alleged rapist framing the historical record ... Laura argues against the "this changes everything" reaction ... Criticizing the actions of Norton, the book's publisher ... What Laura found in Roth's novels that she didn't expect ... What do we do with the fact that many great authors were awful people? ...

The celebrated author Philip Roth was obsessed with chasing the exceptional in both his life and work. Author and critic Jon Day joins the Prospect Interview to discuss new biographies of the author of American Pastoral and Portnoy’s Complaint. He talks to arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about why Roth marks the end of the grand literary celebrity, and how his novels precipitated the rise of “cancel culture.”You can read Jon Day’s essay on Philip Roth here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/philip-roths-ruthless-intimacy-biography-review See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Thea Lenarduzzi and Lucy Dallas are joined by Elaine Showalter, Professor Emerita of English at Princeton University, to discuss Blake Bailey’s keenly anticipated ‘Philip Roth: The biography’; and Alexandra Harris, the author of ‘Weatherland: Artist and writers under English skies’, considers a twenty-first century perspective on Joseph Wright of Derby, an eighteenth-century painter who is perhaps more darkness than light, more magic than science, and who deserves to be ranked among Europe’s greats.Philip Roth: The biography by Blake BaileyJoseph Wright of Derby: Painter of darkness by Matthew Craskewww.the-tls.co.ukProducer: Ben MitchellSee acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jacques's essay on race in Philip Roth's fiction ... Roth and Updike, compare and contrast ... Was Roth always totally in control of his powers? ... How Roth depicted the Newark riots ... Portnoy's Complaint and offensive humor ... Will we be reading Roth in 30 years? ... Roth's fictional (and actual) treatment of women ... Reading the reviews of the new authorized Roth biography ...

PODCAST TWITTER: https://twitter.com/nuts_writing PODCAST INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nutsboltswriting.podcast/ Listen to our podcast on Anchor (links to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.): https://anchor.fm/fortunus-games Read Fortunus Games' "Sam in New York" graphic novel here:  https://tapas.io/series/Sam-in-New-York/info Also on Webtoon: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/sam-in-new-york/list?title_no=501948 Questions for PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT: Intro: Today, we're talking about Portnoy's Complaint, which was first published in 1969 and is written by the award-winning American author, Philip Roth. It was very controversial in its time and got banned from a number of countries for its candid and vulgar treatment of sexuality.  1. Let's start with the plot - is there a plot? Or is it just a collection of thoughts?  2. Why was the book so controversial? What did Roth seek to accomplish when writing this book? What was he trying to address in society about sexuality? This was written in the 60s, during the Sexual Revolution in the US. 3. What is the role of vulgarity in this work? What does it say about Portnoy as a character? Roth as an author? Attitudes towards women and vulgarity - what is the relationship here? Why was this book accused of being misogynistic? 4. What are the similarities between Portnoy's Complaint and the Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray? Both works feature sexual libertines as protagonists and also attack traditional sexual morality. What are the differences? (talk about tone, perspective, etc.) Talk about Dorian Grey vs. Portnoy - both are libertines, but are so different in some ways.  5. Other themes in Portnoy's - Jewish-American identity (esp in light of Israel, assimilation, esp Portnoy's obsession with "conquering America through fucking"), parent-child relationship (Portnoy seeks to liberate himself from his strict parents' expectations through his libertine lifestyle and vulgarity, since he was always pressured to be a model citizen and perfect son) 6. Influence on Fortunus' Works - Ardalion and Portnoy's similarities, esp their attitudes towards sex and traditional morality, cynicism, and flow of consciousness technique, brutally honest tone - also, Sam's relationship with his parents has some degree of similarity, although they are nowhere as controlling as Portnoy's, and Sam's reaction towards his parents' strictness is different. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/fortunus-games/message

This week, we wrestle with the overbearing maximalist style of Roth's narration in The Human Stain.  Does the style augment the themes of the novel or does it detract from the work?  We also discuss Roth's claim that people will no longer read novels.   This is the last book of our series on Campus Novels where we also reviewed and discussed The Secret History and Stoner.  Look for our previous episodes to hear our discussion about these books.  Next week we will wrap up our series on Campus novels. Want to talk about The Human Stain? Join our book club discussion at https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and discussion questions for every episode. You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here: Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube You can also support us by buying The Human Stain or another book from one of our curated lists:  https://bookshop.org/shop/CanonicalPod. We earn a commission on every purchase and your local indie bookstore gets a cut too! We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

This week, we reviewed The Human Stain by Philip Roth, an idiosyncratic American stylist.  Though a best-seller and winner of the PEN/Faulkner when it was published, we were not as impressed.  Why not?  Listen and find out! This is the last novel in our Campus Novels series. We previously covered Stoner and The Secret History which you can find in our archives. Want to talk about The Human Stain? Disagree with our assessment of the book? Join our discussion at https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and discussion questions for every episode. You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here: Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube You can also support us by buying The Human Stain or another book from one of our curated lists:  https://bookshop.org/shop/CanonicalPod. We earn a commission on every purchase and your local indie bookstore gets a cut too! We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

The pals discuss one of Aaron's favorite books, Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth.