At forty, the writer Nathan Zuckerman comes down with a mysterious affliction—pure pain, beginning in his neck and shoulders, invading his torso, and taking possession of his spirit. Zuckerman, whose work was his life, is unable to write a line. Now his work is trekking from one doctor to another, but none can find a cause for the pain or assuage it. Zuckerman himself wonders if the pain could have been caused by his own books. And while he is wondering, his dependence on painkillers grows into an addiction to vodka, marijuana, and Percodan.
The third volume in the Nathan Zuckerman series, The Anatomy Lesson provides some of the funniest scenes in all of Roth’s fiction—as well as some of the fiercest.
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"Every Roth book I've read so far has resulted in the same pattern of reactions:1) Skepticism2) A little less skepticism3) Acceptance4) Total engrossment5) Luv!This one was no exception. "
— Keith (5 out of 5 stars)
“Rich, satisfyingly complex.”
— New York Times“The Anatomy Lesson is a ferocious, heartfelt book…Lavish with laughs and flamboyant inventions.”
— New Yorker“Roth has a genius for the comedy of entrapment…[He] writes America’s most raucously funny novels.”
— Time“One of Roth’s most unsparing and revealing books…Forceful and startling.”
— Newsday" The third book of the Zuckerman books sees our hero plagued by a mystery illness that forces him to spend his days sprawled on a play mat, getting soused and receiving visits from an array of ladies. In the latter half of the book he heads out to Chicago to apply for medical school. What a nut. "
— Nicky, 12/31/2010" My least favorite of the Zuckerman Bound series. "
— Joseph, 11/29/2010" What a wild ride. Reminded me of Bellow's Herzog but a much more interesting plot. Real mid-life crisis stuff. an excellent read. "
— Mark, 11/11/2010" Warning: Roth capably and repeatedly makes you feel his pain in this book. <br/> <br/>The climax in the graveyard is depraved and awesome and laugh-out-loud funny - worth wading through all the self-pity even. "
— Matthew, 6/1/2010" This one fell a little flat for me. I see now that much of these is lifted wholesale from Roth's own life; however, that doesn't sway much very much. "
— Nicole, 3/2/2010" The third book in the Zuckerman collection. I wasn't my favorite. Not nearly as creative as the first one and a bit too self-absorbed for my tastes. I like Roth a lot but in this book he is too wrapped up in the aftermath of his own writing of Portnoy (Carnovsky in the novel). "
— Noah, 2/13/2010" The most abstract of the Zuckermans yet; more of a meditation than the previous two. Nevertheless, Roth's style remains endlessly readable. Reading rarely feels less like work. "
— David, 2/25/2009Philip 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.”
Malcolm Hillgartner is an accomplished actor, writer, and musician. Named an AudioFile Best Voice of 2013 and the recipient of several Earphones Awards, he has narrated over 250 audiobooks.