lizpatanders

I read this book for school and went into it thinking I had a decent idea of what to expect. Just by the name of the sections you can tell that Philip Roth is also thinking of Paradise Lost while they read this. However, I have to say that this book exceeded my expectations. In some ways, I sympathized with Swede Levov.This novel is essentially about a talented high school athlete, Swede Levov, hero of his school, and his daughter Merry and what becomes of her. Religion and politics both play a major role in this novel. I think what's more important than the story itself is the themes within it: themes of allusions, ideals, nostalgia, deceptions, and truths (I may be missing a few). I believe that this story is largely about characters confronting the world and all of the problems in it for what it is now, not for what it once was or what they wish it could be. The story definitely deals with the pastoral as an ideal and whether or not this ideal actually exists or what happens when the ideal begins to fall apart.The writing in this novel is flowing yet very raw. The way some things were described in this novel definitely made me cringe or painted a clear mental image in my head. I feel that's definitely the sign of a talented writer. There's some of Roth's imagery that, whether I like it or not, I believe will stay with me for some time. I'd also like to add that he knows how to make a reader crave a BLT. My one complaint is that the chapters were all roughly 50 pages long, which could make it hard to find a good stopping point. Roth at least had a few stopping points built into these chapters, which alleviated this issue slightly.Roth's characterization in this novel is excellent. I felt sympathetic for Swede at many points throughout the novel, and I definitely had moments when I was frustrated with his wife, Dawn. Swede and Dawn, along with many of the other characters, were definitely believable to me.If you're interested in Roth, religion or politics I think this is a great novel to pick up. However, I'd also like to caution that this is a grim novel and even though some of the content isn't necessarily explicit, I feel that in some points the imagery is. This was definitely worth the read and I look forward to sitting down with it analyzing it more closely