Roth is one of my favorites and I plan to read all of his books, hits and misses. I’ve read 12 of 31 so far, according to the list I keep here on the blog (see Favorite Authors tab above or list in right column).
Reading Myself and Others, a collection of essays about reading and writing.
The Dying Animal, the last book in his David Kepesh trilogy. The trilogy starts with The Breast, which I haven't read and is generally panned. I read the second one a few months ago, The Professor of Desire, and thought it was great.
I know a lot of women don't like to read Philip Roth, or the other male writers of his generation. I do. I tend to prefer "mid-century" (20th) authors both sexes because I'm drawn to books with hefty plots, omniscient third-person narrators, and a minimum of experimentation. And I like to read books by male authors because I like men and want to understand them. They don't think the same way my women friends and I do!
Which authors do you love so much you want to read all their books? How do you keep track?
Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.
Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.
ENJOY your books and your week, Gilion.
ReplyDeleteLove your comments. Yep - Men and women do not think alike for sure.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your continued reading of Roth.
I hope you find more Roth to enjoy. I haven't read Roth yet, but I have so many other things to read. LOL That's a poor excuse. I do agree that male authors think and write differently from female authors. It's interesting to see their perspectives on certain stories and I love complex plots...
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see a male and female author take the same story plot and character names, etc., and create their own novels...just to see how different or alike they would be.
Elizabeth: Thanks! I have time to catch up on things this week. What a luxury!
ReplyDeleteMartha: No kidding! Books can be like breaking a secret code. At least a little bit.
Serena: What a great idea! I suppose the Hogarth series of Shakespeare plays rewritten as novels -- at least the ones written by women -- would be an example of that experiment. Like Hag-seed by Margaret Atwood and Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler. Now I want to read those just for that reason.
I've read seven Roth novels with the last one I read Sabbath's Theater, which so put me off (for the generally talked about reasons with Roth) that I haven't read any more. But there were ones I liked!--American Pastoral, in particular--so I've been thinking it may be time to forgive. :)
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