The Philip Roth We Don't Know: Sex, Race, and Autobiography

by Jacques Berlinerblau, Michael Mungiello (Editor)

Overview

Let it be said, Philip Roth was never uncontroversial. From his first book, Roth scandalized literary society as he questioned Jewish identity and sexual politics in postwar America. Scrutiny and fierce rebukes of the renowned author, for everything from chauvinism to anti-Semitism, followed him his entire career. But the public discussions of race and gender and the role of personal history in fiction have deepened in the new millennium. In his latest book, Jacques Berlinerblau offers a critical new perspective on Roth’s work by exploring it in the era of autofiction, highly charged racial reckonings, and the #MeToo movement.

The Philip Roth We Don’t Know poses provocative new questions about the author of Portnoy’s Complaint, The Human Stain, and the Zuckerman trilogy first by revisiting the long-running argument about Roth’s misogyny within the context of #MeToo, considering the most current perceptions of artists accused of sexual impropriety and the works they create, and so resituating the Roth debates. Berlinerblau also examines Roth’s work in the context of race, revealing how it often trafficked in stereotypes, and explores Roth’s six-decade preoccupation with unstable selves, questioning how this fictional emphasis on fractured personalities may speak to the author’s own mental state. Throughout, Berlinerblau confronts the critics of Roth —as well as his defenders, many of whom were uncritical friends of the famous author—arguing that the man taught us all to doubt "pastorals," whether in life or in our intellectual discourse.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813946610
Publisher:	University of Virginia Press
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jacques Berlinerblau is Rabbi Harold White Professor of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University and author most recently of Campus Confidential: How College Works, or Doesn’t, for Professors, Parents, and Students.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Art Is Slimy/Reverse Biography
1. Roth and Race
2. Old Men, Young Women
3. Misogyny and Autobiography
4. Before We Conclude That Roth’s Fiction Is Misogynistic
5. You Must Change Your Life!
6. Go Flux Your Self ! Philip Roth as Self-Help Guru
7. Fiction Is Truth! (Right?)
Conclusion: Philip Roth’s Legacy
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Appendix
Notes
Works Cited
Index

What People are Saying About This

Jessica Lang

Despite long-standing attention paid Roth by literary critics, theorists, and commentators, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know is a startlingly refreshing and astoundingly comprehensive intervention in the field known as Roth studies. Berlinerblau asks that we take the long view, one that is rich in nuance, vigorous in its attention to broader trends and experiences, and one that doesn’t shy away from asking difficult, challenging, and even painful questions.

Aimee Pozorski

Provocative and original, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know interrogates the life and works of Roth in light of the #MeToo movement and, in so doing, provides a contemporary context for discussing Roth during these changing times.

Editorial Reviews

07/26/2021

Berlinerblau, a professor of Jewish civilization at Georgetown, sorts through Philip Roth’s oeuvre to evaluate common critiques of the late author in this unconvincing work of literary criticism. Berlinerblau takes a “reverse biography” approach, investigating what may be revealed about the author’s life through his fiction. He structures the first half of the book around controversy and the author’s insistence that his work is not autobiographical, and the remainder focuses on wider themes in Roth’s work. More than anything, Berlinerblau writes, Roth was obsessed with “the ways in which men and women—but mostly men—change,” as with the Nathan Zuckerman character, who “wants to dramatically alter his existence.” Berlinerblau is at his best when reckoning with the fact that Roth, the person, had a complicated relationship between “Page Roth” and “Real Roth.” However, he fails to adequately contextualize contemporary arguments about Roth’s racism and misogyny, referencing the possibility that contemporary critics could “cancel” Roth, but neglecting to explain whether and how such criticism could tarnish the legacy of a deceased, well-regarded author. While Berlinerblau’s method of reverse biography is fascinating, this one doesn’t quite satisfy. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

[A] thought­ful, time­ly explo­ration by Jacques Berlinerblau. In The Philip Roth We Don’t Know, he attempts to X‑ray Roth’s fic­tion while assess­ing his lega­cy. Will Roth’s rep­u­ta­tion sur­vive #MeToo? Should it? To answer, Berliner­bau reads Roth foren­si­cal­ly. His project is sim­ple yet ambitious: read­ing Roth rig­or­ous­ly and map­ping his obsessions.

Jewish Book Council

The Philip Roth We Don’t Know is not so much reverse biography as a forward-looking argument. It affirms the enduring value of an astonishingly inventive author even Gen Z can know and admire.

Forward

Provocative and original, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know interrogates the life and works of Roth in light of the #MeToo movement and, in so doing, provides a contemporary context for discussing Roth during these changing times.

Aimee Pozorski

Despite long-standing attention paid Roth by literary critics, theorists, and commentators, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know is a startlingly refreshing and astoundingly comprehensive intervention in the field known as Roth studies. Berlinerblau asks that we take the long view, one that is rich in nuance, vigorous in its attention to broader trends and experiences, and one that doesn’t shy away from asking difficult, challenging, and even painful questions.

Jessica Lang

Berlinerblau, of Georgetown University, Washington, who has published papers on Roth and lectured on his work for three decades, said: 'The thing I learnt about Roth in looking through this material is how much time he spent networking, scratching people’s backs, placing his people in positions, voting for them.'... Ultimately, Berlinerblau said, it is all the more surprising because Roth was such 'a magnificent writer.'

The Guardian

Berlinerblau introduces readers to an intriguing theme: what happens to a writer’s legacy when his output runs headlong into a worldwide social movement? Part of what makes this book exciting for readers, no matter where one sits on the Philip Roth fan/critic spectrum, is that it addresses a question that has yet to be answered.

Studies in American Jewish Literature

"[A] fresh account of the literary legacy of the award-winning and controversial author.... Intriguing new perspectives on a contentious writer. "—author of Kirkus Reviews

"Despite long-standing attention paid Roth by literary critics, theorists, and commentators, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know is a startlingly refreshing and astoundingly comprehensive intervention in the field known as Roth studies. Berlinerblau asks that we take the long view, one that is rich in nuance, vigorous in its attention to broader trends and experiences, and one that doesn’t shy away from asking difficult, challenging, and even painful questions. "—Jessica Lang, Baruch College of CUNY, author of Textual Silence: Unreadability and the Holocaust

"Provocative and original, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know interrogates the life and works of Roth in light of the #MeToo movement and, in so doing, provides a contemporary context for discussing Roth during these changing times. "—Aimee Pozorski, Central Connecticut State University, author of Philip Roth Studies

"Berlinerblau’s method of reverse biography is fascinating. "—author of Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

10/15/2021

There is a definite need for a book that grapples with Roth's reputation in the #MeToo era. A literary figure of towering repute and prodigious output, Roth wrote books that constantly portrayed toxic masculinity, the male gaze, date rape, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. It would seem there is a ready market for a book pondering why he still matters. And yet, in his 128 pages of text, Berlinerblau (Jewish civilization, Georgetown; Campus Confidential: How College Works, or Doesn't, for Professors, Parents, and Students) seems to make only a half-hearted attempt. The main value of this book may be simply in pointing toward an approach to Roth's work through a #MeToo lens as well as that of Black Lives Matter. Problematic is Roth's tendency toward meta-fiction; where does the fiction end and reality begin? In his analysis, Berlinerblau tries to explore this liminality, but to little affect. Instead, he makes assertions, then questions his own assertions, before finally dismissing them in a kind of miasma of meta-fiction and mystery. If only he had pressed into that difficulty with greater effort, he might have discovered something quite profound about the dwindling value of Roth's work. Instead, readers are left with a brief book that somehow feels too long. On the plus side, the appendix has two tables of valuable information. Table 1 indexes African Americans in Roth's novels and novellas, tabulating where and how they appear. Table 2 covers age-dissimilar romances in the novels. These tables open doors to further research and may prove quite useful. VERDICT Academic libraries and large Roth collections may want to purchase.—Herman Sutter, St. Agnes Acad., Houston

Library Journal

2021-06-10
A study of the correlation between the life and art of Philip Roth (1933-2018).

In the context of the #MeToo movement, Berlinerblau offers a fresh account of the literary legacy of the award-winning and controversial author. Roth was a master of metafiction, a literary genre that blurs the boundaries between fiction and reality. He was also repeatedly accused of sexism, and many of his works have misogynist undercurrents. One narrative element that emerged in many of his works was a romance between an older man and a much younger woman. Throughout his career, Roth was repeatedly asked about the relationship between his life and art, to which he repeatedly denied any connection. In the context of a “reverse biography,” Berlinerblau analyzes Roth’s books in relation to his “obsessional themes” in order to gain a better understanding of the artist as a whole. In addition to sex, Berlinerblau explores the theme of race in Roth’s fiction, noting that his representations of African Americans and Jews were often presented in “thoughtless and occasionally quite disturbing” ways. The author also explores what he deems “Roth Unsexed,” focusing on his obsession with how men and women change, noting that Roth also had strong opinions regarding the ideal self. “The literary challenge for scholars,” he writes, “is to break down the methods he used to transpose raw experience in exquisite literature.” Berlinerblau recommends assuming that an author’s fiction provides clues to his life “unless proven otherwise,” suggesting that proof exists otherwise in Roth’s case. Drawing from opposing criticism of scholars as well as his own observations, the author demonstrates revealing methods for viewing Roth and his body of work. Although Berlinerblau’s conclusions are plausible, the method in which he articulates them is not always straightforward. He frequently sidetracks his own discussions and repeatedly states the intentions of his book and the direction he will be taking before making his points.

Intriguing new perspectives on a contentious writer.

Kirkus Reviews