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Loading... The Plot Against America: A Novel (original 2004; edition 2004)by Philip Roth
Work detailsThe Plot Against America by Philip Roth (2004)
00002797   cavlibrary | Jun 3, 2013 |  I have read almost all of Philip Roth's books. I have had this one for years and finally got around to reading it. I was able to finish it in 3 days. This was mainly because of the plot. Although one might think that the idea of a fascist leadership coming to power in our current contentious environment, in 1940 there were many that were isolationists. Roth takes some plausible historical facts and through the eyes of young Philip tells the story. I agree with other reviewers that the ending was abrupt. Without getting into too many plot details, I strongly recommend this book. Roth's narratives are excellent and the use of misinformation and scare stories will be a reminder of what can happen. I also like the concept of Jewish assimilation into the general population that was feared in this book but what has become a reality 70 years later. Also much of the conspiracy theories about the Jews back then are being used against the Muslim population today. (  ) nivramkoorb | May 20, 2013 | I was hesitant to even start The Plot Against America and within the first few pages I was audibly groaning. I didn't really want to read 391 pages of alternate history where the author takes his personal political philosophy and tries to pass it off as a story. But it was Philip Roth—the Philip Roth everyone has raved about for years, the Philip Roth I've managed to ignore all this time—and this, this is said to be one of his best books, especially in recent times. I had to see what all the talk was about. But then Roth did something amazing. After those introductory pages setting up the story and the history, Roth slipped into the mind of his childhood narrator (named Philip Roth, whom I will refer to as “Lil' Phil”). Lil' Phil's perspective is what makes this novel great. He's a kid, and his view, his actions, his dialogue, is exactly what you expect from a kid. Sure there's a war going on with possible genocide on the horizon, but Lil' Phil doesn't see this for what it is—he processes it as a child would, concerned more about the ghosts in the basement than the threat of mass-extermination. Most people who read this book probably notice more of the alternate history storyline. Lil' Phil's antics are likely a distraction. For me, I thought every redeeming quality of this book resided in the voice of this person, looking back on his childhood. Roth nails that childhood perspective in a way few authors can emulate. Perhaps you could even say this is a memoir, Roth looking back on his own childhood (with a dash of alternate history). Unfortunately, toward the end, the book sort of derailed. It was as though Roth were writing an 800-page epic and suddenly, in the middle, decided to just be done with it. Until those last couple chapters, the pace was steady, then out of nowhere comes the long drawn out history lessons that crams everything else you needed to know about this period in history. Lil' Phil's voice is lost, replaced with the thing that I was dreading this novel would be. Had Roth continued with that same pace, the same point of view for 800 or more pages, I would've gladly followed him. But it just sort of fell apart. The last thing any memoir needs (even if it's completely fictitious) is a newsreel summarizing history. Probably it pleased the historical buffs, but for me, it took the human element out, and that was what I wanted most from this novel. (  ) chrisblocker | May 14, 2013 | This book imagines what might have happened if Charles Lindbergh had been elected US President in 1940. It centers around Roth's own family, a Jewish family from New Jersey. His father is very concerned that Lindbergh is a pro-Nazi fascist, while Roth's aunt and brother support Lindbergh. This leads to family turmoil that mirrors the turmoil the rest of the country is facing in dealing with the "Jewish question." Most of the book is believable, and the characters are interesting and likable. Unfortunately, parts of the book become repetitious. Roth's father repeatedly sees problems with the Lindbergh government that others don't see, and Roth, only a child, is constantly torn on who to believe. Once this pattern has been established, the reader doesn't need constant events to reestablish everyone's role in this drama. Roth could have shared just a few key events and had a more tight, engaging story. (  )1  fuzzy_patters | May 7, 2013 | alternate history in which Charles Lindbergh defeats Roosevelt in 1936 and imposes an anti-Semitic, Nazi-philic regime FKarr | Apr 6, 2013 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0618509283, Hardcover)"What if" scenarios are often suspect. They are sometimes thinly veiled tales of the gospel according to the author, taking on the claustrophobic air of a personal fantasia that can't be shared. Such is not the case with Philip Roth's tour de force, The Plot Against America. It is a credible, fully-realized picture of what could happen anywhere, at any time, if the right people and circumstances come together.The Plot Against America explores a wholly imagined thesis and sees it through to the end: Charles A. Lindbergh defeats FDR for the Presidency in 1940. Lindbergh, the "Lone Eagle," captured the country's imagination by his solo Atlantic crossing in 1927 in the monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis, then had the country's sympathy upon the kidnapping and murder of his young son. He was a true American hero: brave, modest, handsome, a patriot. According to some reliable sources, he was also a rabid isolationist, Nazi sympathizer, and a crypto-fascist. It is these latter attributes of Lindbergh that inform the novel. The story is framed in Roth's own family history: the family flat in Weequahic, the neighbors, his parents, Bess and Herman, his brother, Sandy and seven-year-old Philip. Jewishness is always the scrim through which Roth examines American contemporary culture. His detractors say that he sees persecution everywhere, that he is vigilant in "Keeping faith with the certainty of Jewish travail"; his less severe critics might cavil about his portrayal of Jewish mothers and his sexual obsession, but generally give him good marks, and his fans read every word he writes and heap honors upon him. This novel will engage and satisfy every camp. "Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear. Of course, no childhood is without its terrors, yet I wonder if I would have been a less frightened boy if Lindbergh hadn't been president or if I hadn't been the offspring of Jews." This is the opening paragraph of the book, which sets the stage and tone for all that follows. Fear is palpable throughout; fear of things both real and imagined. A central event of the novel is the relocation effort made through the Office of American Absorption, a government program whereby Jews would be placed, family by family, across the nation, thereby breaking up their neighborhoods--ghettos--and removing them from each other and from any kind of ethnic solidarity. The impact this edict has on Philip and all around him is horrific and life-changing. Throughout the novel, Roth interweaves historical names such as Walter Winchell, who tries to run against Lindbergh. The twist at the end is more than surprising--it is positively ingenious. Roth has written a magnificent novel, arguably his best work in a long time. It is tempting to equate his scenario with current events, but resist, resist. Of course it is a cautionary tale, but, beyond that, it is a contribution to American letters by a man working at the top of his powers. --Valerie Ryan (retrieved from Amazon Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:07:06 -0500) "When the renowned aviation hero and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh defeated Franklin Roosevelt by a landslide in the 1940 presidential election, fear invaded every Jewish household in America. Not only had Lindbergh, in a nationwide radio address, publicly blamed the Jews for selfishly pushing America toward a pointless war with Nazi Germany, but, upon taking office as the thirty-third president of the United States, he negotiated a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, whose conquest of Europe and whose virulent anti-Semitic policies he appeared to accept without difficulty." "What followed in America is the historical setting for this startling new book by Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Roth, who recounts what it was like for his Newark family - and for a million such families all over the country - during the menacing years of the Lindbergh presidency, when American citizens who happened to be Jews had every reason to expect the worst."--BOOK JACKET.… (more) (summary from another edition) |
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