The Facts is the unconventional autobiography of a writer who has reshaped our idea of fiction — a work of compelling candor and inventiveness, instructive particularly in its revelation of the interplay between life and art. Philip Roth concentrates on five episodes from his life: his secure city childhood in the thirties and forties; his education in American life at a conventional college in the fifties; his passionate entanglement, as an ambitious young man, with the angriest person he ever met (the “girl of my dreams” Roth calls her); his clash, as a fledgling writer, with a Jewish establishment outraged by Goodbye, Columbus; and his discovery, in the excesses of the sixties, of an unmined side to his talent that led him to write Portnoy’s Complaint. The audiobook concludes surprisingly — in true Rothian fashion — with a sustained assault by the novelist against his proficiencies as an autobiographer.
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"Is it forgivable that the last chapter of this book is devoted to pointing out all the ways in which the book falls short? I'm biased, of course, but the writing is completely sharp, and he does a good job of giving what I imagine readers would have wanted in 1981. Disturbing that the pregnancy scene from My Life as a Man was the only piece of total truth in all his fiction." — Ethan (4 out of 5 stars)
"Is it forgivable that the last chapter of this book is devoted to pointing out all the ways in which the book falls short? I'm biased, of course, but the writing is completely sharp, and he does a good job of giving what I imagine readers would have wanted in 1981. Disturbing that the pregnancy scene from My Life as a Man was the only piece of total truth in all his fiction."
" I just love love love philip roth. His books are full of life and consciousness. I love his books "
" Eh, he is a bit of a jerk. "
" Lesser Roth, but still an interesting window into his life -- and his mind. Especially because of Zuckerman's postscript. "
" 5/11/11 - this was good, i listened to the audiobook at work, my favorite parts were zuckerman's letter at the end and everything which corresponded with My Life as a Man "
" I enjoyed this. Those who aren't fans of Roth's work will probably not find much enjoyment in it. "
" I'm so not a Phillip Roth fan, though this was an interesting (if true) look at his early writing career. "
" Good for fans of Roth. "
" I could only recommend to a Roth enthusiast. "
" Roth en calzones, temeroso de encuerarse, y Zuckerman pateando su vientre, como debe ser. "
" Having been a Roth enthusiast and noticing similarities between many of his books' main characters, I enjoyed reading about who this guy Philip Roth really was, at least from his own perspective. "
" This wasn't the book I hoped it would be, though it did show just how closely his books are drawn from his life. Zuckerman (in The Facts) got it right with his final review. Novelists should stick to fiction, I suppose. "
" Fuck you, Roth. Almost answered a bunch of my questions. And then he ends it with a 30-page letter from Zuckerman to himself that basically undoes everything he said. This book was a waste of time. And I enjoyed it. "
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.”
Laural Merlington is an audiobook narrator with over two hundred titles to her credit and a winner of multiple Earphones Awards. An Audie Award nominee, she has also directed over one hundred audiobooks. She has performed and directed for thirty years in theaters throughout the country. In addition to her extensive theater and voice-over work, she teaches college in her home state of Michigan.
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