From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Pastoral—a fiendishly imaginative book that features Israeli intelligence agents, Palestinian exiles, an accused war criminal, and an enticing charter member of an organization called Anti-Semites Anonymous
In this book (which may or may not be fiction), Philip Roth meets a man who may or may not be Philip Roth. Because someone with that name has been touring Israel, promoting a bizarre reverse exodus of the Jews. Roth is intent on stopping him, even if that means impersonating his own impersonator.With excruciating suspense, unfettered philosophical speculation, and a wild cast of characters, Operation Shylock barrels across the frontier between fact and fiction, seriousness and high comedy, history and nightmare.
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"Roth really breaks out the full bag of tricks here. Is it fiction or nonfiction? Who's the real Philip Roth? WHo's working for the Mossad, who's working for the PLO? What is the moral responsibility of the Jews both Israeli and Diasporic, to the Palestinian conflict? And many more questions, both moral and narrative, on top of those. Minus one star for two reasons: It took me more than a hundred pages before I was really sucked in, and as much as the prose is virtuosic, I sometimes feel Roth falls a little too much in love with his own writing. Still, a must-read for anyone interested in the craft of fiction, especially postmodern fiction." — Justin (4 out of 5 stars)
"Roth really breaks out the full bag of tricks here. Is it fiction or nonfiction? Who's the real Philip Roth? WHo's working for the Mossad, who's working for the PLO? What is the moral responsibility of the Jews both Israeli and Diasporic, to the Palestinian conflict? And many more questions, both moral and narrative, on top of those. Minus one star for two reasons: It took me more than a hundred pages before I was really sucked in, and as much as the prose is virtuosic, I sometimes feel Roth falls a little too much in love with his own writing. Still, a must-read for anyone interested in the craft of fiction, especially postmodern fiction."
"One of Roth’s grand inventions…[He is] a comic genius.”
" Everything about this book proves why I love Philip Roth's writing, i.e. humor, use of the English language, provocation to thinking, relevance to the modern world. "
" The main character (Philip Roth) has a body double following him around. Very weird but thrilling book. "
" One of the few books I've literally thrown into the garbage can. "
" Read this in Israel, where a lot of the story takes place, so it could have been the circumstances, but i really really thought this was a hoot. More funny than his usual work. "
" I am a big fan of Philip Roth and this was one of his two or three best. Hijinks, absurdity, and great writing. "
" Well, this one had me chewing through the pages sometimes ... "
" I gave up early on. It felt like homework. "
" Definitely not Roth's best -too many angry shouting old guys- but the beginning of the novel, when the narrator gets hit by depression is superb. Is the Palestian guy in Ramallah supposed to refer to Edward Said? "
" Sempre eccellente. Forse l'ultimo capitolo ha qualche "millimetrico" cedimento. "
" Nancy, I think you might like this and relate. There are some funny parts, but also he gets a bit self indulgent towards the end. "
" LOOOOVED the first 2/3 of this book . . . always like Roth . . . the last 1/3 got too heavy on the internal discussions though. Still . . . an amazing book idea, and very thought provoking. "
" Absolutely brilliant book. This author never lets the reader down. "
" In Portnoy's Complaint, I found the subplot in Israel a bit random. But I believe Roth did much a better job integrating his Jerusalem trip in this story (confession?). I enjoyed most of the book, but found the pages devoted to referencing the book itself a bit cliched. "
" Most everything I know about being Jewish I picked up from Phillip Roth and standup comedians. "
" Frickin' bizarre. Fun read through. "
" Dear Philip Roth, I don't know who you are and I don't much care to, especially after you wrote this book, which was overblown and unfun to read and kind of altogether terrible. Sorry. Better luck next time? "
" I read this because Obama listed Philip Roth as one of his favorite authors, and I'm glad I got a taste of Roth's style. One taste was enough, though; the ironic, post-modern self-awareness of the author made the book slow and overly cerebral. "
" I really liked some parts of this book...it honed in on a lot of stuff I like to debate, but then the end just dragged.... "
" If you're at all curious about what it means to be a skeptical Jew, read this. If not, read it anyway. "
" Sprawlingly ambitious work. This one took me awhile but it was well worth it. "
" Having a hard time getting through this one so far. Parts are great, but others are a slog. "
" An interesting perspective on self recovery, anti-sematism, and survival of an individual and a people. "
" Everything I love in a good post-modern novel - blending of fact and fiction, questioning identity, questioning reality, playing with form... love it all. "
" I'm not entirely sure this is five star writing (it may be), but I'm dead certain it's a five star mind-fuck. It's a book about writing. It's an instruction manual for the writerly imagination. It's also a wheels-in-wheels rabbithole into koo-koo land. "
" This was quite a demented book--Philip Roth at his best and most self-indulgent. I recommend it highly. Great discussion of the contradictions in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. "
" Fritz Weaver read the Recorded Books edition. Perfection. This my nomination for Roth's best....quintessentially, self-consciously, "Rothian". "
Philip Roth (1933–2018) was one of the most decorated writers in American history, having won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award twice, the PEN/Faulkner Award three times, the National Book Award, and many more. He also won the Ambassador Book Award of the English-Speaking Union and in the same year received the National Medal of Arts at the White House. In 2001 he received the highest award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Gold Medal in Fiction, given every six years “for the entire work of the recipient.”
Richard Poe, a professional actor for more than thirty years, has appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including 1776 and M. Butterfly. On television he has had recurring roles on Star Trek and Frasier. His films include Born on the Fourth of July and Presumed Innocent. Poe is a well-known and prolific audiobook performer and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards.
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