The protagonist is an almost ruined man — ruined presumably by the sixties, but more generally the victim of his own appetites. Roth paints him as loathsome: isolated, selfish, a prig. But he's redeemed by his relationship with a student. It happens slowly, and to the reader the pleasure is in watching it unfold.

In short: this is not a book about the fantasies of elderly men, neither the protagonist's nor Roth's. It does Roth an injustice to read it in that way.

Why bother writing this stuff, Roth? Same old, same old. Save your energies for significant works (like American Pastoral). Masturbate in private, svp. ( )

First of all, a disclaimer: as a college professor, I believe personal relationships with students have always been absolutely out of bounds. Not everyone agrees with me, but for the 20-some years I have been teaching, this has been a hard and fast rule. Of course, the number of women who flirt -- believing this will help their grade -- is astounding. Recently, a woman tried this trick, and I knew exactly what she was up to, so I reported her actions to the dean, and kept him informed. When she was unhappy with her grade, she appealed the matter to that same dean and tried the same trick with him. So, I was vindicated in all respects.

Then, along comes Philip Roth and another of his vintage, raw stories of sexual relationships -- this time set in academia. Of course, David carefully cultivates these women all semester, and after the grades have been entered, he begins a campaign to bed the woman chosen from the year's students. As the book opens, he recounts one such student, with whom he begins a passionate affair described in the minutest detail. That about ends where I can go with the description of the plot.

While Roth writes with his usual talent for delving deep into the minds of his characters to ferret out the motivations and emotions they are experiencing, this novel definitely rates an NC-17 rating. If you can get past the frank descriptions, Roth offers a marvelous portrayal of an aging professor still searching for some answers to life's most enduring questions about love and relationships.

Actually, I don't mean to imply that every page has a graphic scene, but the ones that do occur are so powerful, they might as well come with soft lights and slow, smoky jazz. Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz portray David and Consuela in the film version titled Elegy. Netflix will allow me to compare the book and the movie. 4 stars for a rather unsatisfying ending.

--Jim, 8/19/09

Disturbing but good. Definitely read the book rather than watching the movie (Elegy), as the movie gets rid of everything that actual makes this worth reading. ( )

The Dying Animal is the first Philip Roth book i have read. i had really high expectations for it, especially since i enjoyed Elegy, the film based on it, so much. but this book was just not for me. i think the actual plot is good. but as a novel, it felt so indulgent. i felt like Roth was speaking down to readers while also really needing them to find his characters and story interesting. i will watch this film again, but i think once was enough for the book. ( )

One of the few (actually, I can only think of this one) examples of a novel written to dispute a poem. In this case, "Sailing to Byzantium", by W.B. Yeats. One of Roth's transgressive heroes (David Kepesh, from The Breast and The Professor of Desire), who represents the catastrophe of dedicating old age to "Monuments of unageing intellect". ( )

Philip Roth is a dirty old man and I still can't help loving him. This novel is shorter than his other fare, but it certainly doesn't lack for anything. This particular novel of Roth's is merely condensed. It's definitely worth a few hours of your time.

Naughty. ( )

This novella, published in 2001, is a tale told by one of Roth's regular characters, David Kepesh, a New York City professor and TV cultural commentator. Previously in "The Breast" and "The Professor of Desire", Kepesh is now seventy.

Although he married young, he quickly divorced and has been single since, sleeping with a succession of students throughout his life, some of them for many years after they have graduated. Kepesh's justification for his lifestyle is the sexual revolution of the 1960s which, he argues, was what liberated women to sleep with him, not the other way around.

At the age of 62, he meets Consuela Castillo, the 24 year old daughter of wealthy Cuban immigrant parents. Although chiefly driven by lust as usual, Kepesh also experiences feelings he's never had before and he's thrown into depression when their relationship ends.

Kepesh is, despite all his bluster, basically a dirty old man, although that's no surprise in a late Roth protaginist. He's a difficult character to sympathise with - he seems to have a good life but is still not happy. However, the pat solution (a family) would probably feel to him like a trap.

There's an awkward diversion into a meditation on mortality caused by the death of a close friend that seems tacked on, unconvincing and doesn't add to the main thrust of the story. Roth explores this latter topic far more thoroughly and eloquently in "Everyman".

Despite being as eloquent as the three previous novels of his I've read, this seems to me to be minor Roth.
__________________ ( )

The Dying Animal is an unusual chapter in the progression of Roth's protagonish, Professor David Kepesh.

At first, the novel seems to be somewhat out of place with the other two books, adopting a voice that (presumably under the pretense of old age) is blunter and cruder than we might expect. Just as The Breast and The Professor of Desire end up becoming missives on topics far afield of sex and relationships, so too does this novel evolve, though amidst a far more sexualized backdrop than any of the others.

The tales and justifications of Kepesh's many "aesthetic" affairs are interlaced with the somewhat less-than-interesting saga of his relationship with Consuela Castillo, a story that only gains momentum as the novel reaches its end and the transformation occurs, revealing itself as a work far more interested in the concept of time, aging, and the inevitability of death.

It's not as tightly constructed as the other books, but it's fairly short and as readable as the others, and if you've enjoyed your first two forays into David Kepesh's world, it's doubtful you'll be wanting to miss the final installment.

This was my first Roth and I now realize that he can become preachy... he tends to tell 'me' what 'he' thinks 'I' should know.

This was a difficult book for me. Roth created a character that I really despised... basically a sick old man, a professor infatuated with women, or at his age, girls. Consuela is his latest desire that turns into his obsession. I found it a bit too much. There are basically 3 main characters in the book; Kepesh the protaganist, Consuela his object of infatuation and frustration, and his son who despises him (yay for him). But the scene that stuck with me the most and I found to be the most touching and best writing of the entire book is when his close male confidant falls ill... that bedroom scene just spun me around (for those of you that read this book, you know the scene). What i find ironic is the scene I enjoyed the most was not even necessary to the plot line. By the end of the book, I no longer despised Kapesh, just pitied him. ( )

2001. David Kepesh is 62 when he has an affair with a 24-year-old student, Consuela Castillo. He sleeps with her for a year and a half then is depressed about losing her for three years thereafter. Eight years after their affair, she contacts him to tell him she has breast cancer. Her breasts were so enormously important in his erotic life, that he is quite devastated by the news that she will lose one. He is 70 by this time, but he seems likely to become hopelessly entangled with her again, but the book ends. The point seems to be that no man is immune to ridiculous behavior in love. He never even seems really in love with her, but he is obsessed with her. Interesting, but not great, perhaps over-intellectualized. He is not in the moment like Portnoy, but recalling the events and analyzing them trying to gain some understanding about them that eludes his grasp. ( )

His best so far. Extremely cool and sexual. Plus Zuleika read it and we had long hours of talk afterward. ( )

A revealing look at the Sexual Revolution through the eyes of an aging man. Philip Roth is among by favorite authors. "The Dying Animal" doesn't come close to the achieving the brilliant feats Roth accomplished in some of his other works, namely "The Plot Against America" and "American Pastoral." Still, it presents a graphic snapshot of how one intriguing character struggles with colliding emotions, passion and death. This thin tome (156 pages) is well worth the read. ( )

I guess this is Philip Roth's usual fare, but it is rather too much "literature" for me --- a meditation on life, love, death and all that, without really going anywhere. ( )

I disliked this book. Particularly, I disliked the main character so much that I began to resent that I was using my time to read about him. ( )