The Counterlife Audiobook

" Couldn't get into it at all. Couldn't relate. Only read 40 or 50 pages. "

" They don't get any worse than this one. It was revolting. Only got about 1/5 or 1/4 of the way through & gave up. "

" Not one of Roth's most famous, but I loved this book. It is about alternative realities to two men's lives. "

" I really enjoyed the first several chapters. I was intrigued by all the switching around of circumstances and not knowing what was "real". My problem was with the last chapter. After you know what is going on and what the "true" circumstances are, the last chapter seems pointless and superfluous. And ridiculously meta. I think it went too far in that regard. "

" I think this is my favorite Philip Roth book so far (I've read about half of his novels). I wouldn't say that there was anything that made me laugh aloud but there were more than a few times that I grinning to myself during this one. "

" What the brothers in this novel have in common with most of Auter's leading men is a relation to another that is more like an alter-ego/rival than another man. "

" An amazing experience, of shifting perspectives and identity and meaning. About storytelling and Life. And Roth of course, who never leaves himself alone or bothers with the truth. What more could you want? "

" Nothing happens in this book; it's just a lot of people talking at each other. Arguing, with varying degrees of civility. Sometimes it was really interesting, and sometimes it was pretty boring. "

" Three stars up until the last chapeter, and then I could not carry on any further. The last chapter completely lost me, though I did like the twist that most of the book was actually a novel in itself. "

" Top 20 ever "

" This is not a great story it is four great stories. Roth plays with narrative offering several different resolutions for the same conflict. In the hands of a less skilled writer it might be confusing but it is never that way with Roth. Certain scenes -- many scenes -- are unforgettable. "

" Postmodern literature at its best. Variations on three or so central themes: brotherhood, Jewish identity, sense-of-self. Best line: 'I am a theater and nothing more than a theater'. One of the best Roth's I've read--certainly one of the most intricately composed. "

" I think I should be embarrassed that I didn't give this book more stars; if there were 1/2 stars I'd lob it another 1/2 star. "

" An amazing experience, of shifting perspectives and identity and meaning. About storytelling and Life. And Roth of course, who never leaves himself alone or bothers with the truth. What more could you want? "

" More successful as philosophy than fiction.. "

" Tried to explain the ending of this book to a friend and gave up. Some really good characters though. Especially the airline interrogator. Only for true lovers of Roth. "

" Last book I read by Roth. He has a way with words and it´s a good narrator but the stories bore me to death. "

" All of Roth's novels are interesting, but this one twists the reader in uncomfortable ways. You have to ride along with it, or you might be tempted to put it down. Still, it's worth the effort and the discomfort of suspending disbelief at times. "

" Nothing happens in this book; it's just a lot of people talking at each other. Arguing, with varying degrees of civility. Sometimes it was really interesting, and sometimes it was pretty boring. "

" Not one of Roth's most famous, but I loved this book. It is about alternative realities to two men's lives. "

" Read this in college and thought it was worth revisiting. I was wrong. Reading about over philosophizing is worth than over philosophizing itself. "

" The Zuckerman issue of self & writer culminates in the imagining of his own demise. A self devouring work that is a work of perfect construction & yet a page turner. Even Roth haters applaud this work as an act of literary imagination. "

" Great read from a literary master. This was my favorite Roth book to date, though I liked most of his others too. "