You can sure tell this was early Roth. ( )

So, this is the 23rd Philip Roth book that I have read, though it is his first novel. I have found that first novels are often radically different from the rest of an author's work, though in this case I wouldn't say that it was all that different from some of Roth's other novels. One obvious thing that sets "Letting Go" apart is it's length; it is much longer than his other books. I haven't actually compared page numbers, but even if it weren't actually longer it (though it was) it would still seem longer. There also seemed to be a lot of name dropping going on - several references to Proust, Henry James, and others: Proust is fast becoming one of my favorite authors (though my prose sadly does not reflect that) and I am going to give James another chance. I think the author referencing may be a way to add legitimacy or to show off, but that is forgivable certainly.

I can't give the book a negative review - though I did find it to be tedious. I didn't really like any of the characters, though that doesn't really matter all that much. It did seem that the reader had to endure the same scenes repeatedly: Paul and Libby arguing over the same thing repeatedly, Gabe and Martha arguing over the same thing repeatedly, Gabe and Bigoness arguing over the same thing repeatedly, etc. I suppose the repetition drills in the fact that people often repeat themselves and do not often change or give in. I especially found the scenes with Bigoness to be difficult to get through; the character himself was annoying, and the confrontation with Gabe was frustrating.

A lot of the territory staked out in this novel Roth explores again (and again) later on, and I enjoyed those books a great deal more. I generally prefer Roth's work more from the mid-70's onward. If I were ranking, I'd say that this is probably my 3rd or 4th least favorite Roth book (1st has to be "The Great American Novel" and 2nd has to be "Our Gang").

Still though, it was an interesting book, and there is a lot of good stuff in it. In reply to arthurfrayn, the other reviewer of "Letting Go" here, I agree with you on all points. The characters all ring true more or less ; though there are things that today seem rather racist, sexist, and classist, I don't really fault Roth for them. I think this is a very good book - maybe as good or better than "Portnoy's Complaint," but not as good as most of his other work. ( )

I've read dimissive and backhanded reviews of this novel for years and I don't know what to think. This is one of the best novels I've ever read. There are things he talks about in this novel that have been roiling around in my head for years since I read it. I'm in this book, other people I know are in this book.It's a gut wrenching, harrowing book at times, but there are no cheap shots. Everything rings true.
This novel contributed a lot more to my life than something like "Portnoy's Complaint" ( )