Everyman (2006)

I re-read this book last week and enjoyed its dark meditations on maleness once again. "The life and death of a male body" is a phrase that comes up at least once, and rightly so. It reminds me of my father, and of his generation of successful east coast children of immigrant Jews. And, it is marvelous for its brevity and the way in which it captures the totality of a flawed human life, as reflected upon by the one who lived it. "Old age is not a battle; old age is a massacre" Roth wants us to know, and after you read this you will have been well warned. ( )

This was the first novel by Philip Roth that I've read (I know..I know) and this was recommended by my mom. I have gone back and forth on this one, whether it deserves a 3 or 4 star review. I think it has some meaningful and highly personal things to say about the loss of function and death of a human being at the end of life. The main problem I had with it (besides the fact that I felt it was a bit short running at 182 pages) is that I didn't like the man who was dying very much. If the intention was that I should grieve over a man who wasted his life never having a fulfilling relationship, never being a good father, never able to be faithful to any of his wives, Philip Roth had another thing coming to him. I don't feel sorry for this man. If the lesson here instead was to a young man reading to explain to him...Danger!!! This is NOT what you want to become..don't go down this same road..well, I think it might be useful for someone like that (in other words, the young philandering type) to read this. Still, that would also assume that the young unfaithful male is an intellectual and would choose to spend his time reading this novel. I would guess this doesn't apply to your typical unfaithful young male but I suppose the one that it does apply to would more likely be changed by it.


On a personal level, I just couldn't relate too much to this and couldn't apply it to my life whatsoever. It's clear Roth is a great writer but I need to read something much different than this for me to connect with it emotionally.


Memorable quotes:


pg. 16 " ...the battle to remain an unassailable man had by then been lost by him, time having transformed his own body into a storehouse for man made contraptions designed to fend off collapse. Defusing thoughts of his own demise had never required more diligence and cunning."

pg 71 "...but now eluding death seemed to have become the central business of his life and bodily decay the entire story."

pg 95 "No one could say there wasn't enough sadness to go around or enough remorse to prompt the fugue of questions with which he attempted to defend the story of his life."

pg. 119-120 "We didn't sleep. She cried all night long."
"For four whole nights? That's a lot of crying for a twenty-four year old Dane.
I don't think even Hamlet cried that much."

pg. 156 "Old age isn't a battle. Old age is a massacre." ( )

A depressing book that didn't feel life affirming in any way. Fantastic writing, very skillfully put together and read very well.
I do get tired with the older man can't help having an affair with younger woman scenario. It is interesting to read the regret the Everyman felt; clearly not everyone's experience. The loneliness is all pervading in the novel and, of course, it is bought on by his own stupidity and so leads to his regret. But a novel that starts with the funeral of the main character can only be about death and this is why it felt very depressing, as it was always leading to the end of his life and reminds us that this is where we are all going. ( )

Un homme. Un homme parmi d'autres. Le destin du personnage de Philip Roth est retracé depuis sa première confrontation avec la mort sur les plages de son enfance jusque dans son vieil âge, quand les maux physiques l'accablent. Entre-temps, publicitaire à succès, il aura connu épreuves familiales et satisfactions professionnelles. D'un premier mariage, il a eu deux fils qui le méprisent et, d'un second, une fille qui l'adore. Il est le frère d'un homme sympathique dont la santé lui inspire de l'amertume et l'ex-mari de trois femmes qu'il a entraînées dans des mariages chaotiques. En fin de compte, c'est un homme qui est devenu ce qu'il ne voulait pas être. Ce roman puissant - le vingt-septième de Roth - prend pour territoire le corps humain. Il a pour sujet l'expérience qui nous est commune et nous terrifie tous.

Everyman tells the story of one man’s life - his triumphs and failures of his personal relationships as well as his struggles with his health. While the main character is not painted as the “everyman” Roth shows that all lives are connected in our constant progression towards death. I was not particularly impressed with this book. There were definitely some great moments including the beginning and the end of the novel. However, I felt unable to sympathize with the main character. Roth always writes eloquently which made reading this novel enjoyable. ( )