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The Humbling Audiobook
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(3.18) - 22 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Everything is over for Simon Axler, the protagonist of Philip Roth’s startling book. One of the leading American stage actors of his generation, now in his sixties, he has lost his magic, his talent, and his assurance. His Falstaff and Peer Gynt and Vanya, all his great roles, “are melted into air, into thin air.” When he goes onstage he feels like a lunatic and looks like an idiot. His confidence in his powers has drained away; he imagines people laughing at him; he can no longer pretend to be someone else. “Something fundamental has vanished.” His wife has gone, his audience has left him, his agent can’t persuade him to make a comeback.
Into this shattering account of inexplicable and terrifying self-evacuation bursts a counterplot of unusual erotic desire, a consolation for a bereft life so risky and aberrant that it points not toward comfort and gratification but to a yet darker and more shocking end. In this long day’s journey into night, told with Roth’s inimitable urgency, bravura, and gravity, all the ways that we convince ourselves of our solidity, all our life’s performances—talent, love, sex, hope, energy, reputation are stripped off.
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"Magnífico. Crea un personaje sin fisuras. No tiene la quinta estrella por el tamaño, queda pequeña. "
— Rafa (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Roth observes much (about age, success, and the sexual credit lovers hold one with another) in little space, and the svelte narrative amounts to an unsparing confrontation of self.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Roth’s voice, long heard and long appreciated, remains profound.”
— Booklist (starred review)
The Humbling Listener Reviews
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" Didn't really have anything especially interesting to say, but I like how Roth writes, even if he has done the same thing much better in his earlier works. "
— Smoothw, 5/16/2011 -
" The lesbian stereotypes were ridiculously laughable, but sadly, they weren't meant to be. Offensive in the complete lack of imagination, i.e. based on cliche straight male fantasy. Otherwise I enjoyed it and almost always find Roth's writing compelling. "
— Abby, 4/25/2011 -
" This was my first Roth novel and I enjoyed it. The ride was a tragic one. "
— Jeremy, 4/5/2011 -
" Roth's last few books have really been downers- and this one was no exemption!! But with skills like his I'm always down for the depressing ride :) "
— Amos, 3/31/2011 -
" Reminds me why I love reading Roth. "
— Craig, 3/18/2011 -
" When I grow up, I would like to write like him. Well written, very pleasant reading. "
— Kika, 3/14/2011 -
" Oh, come on. At least Portnoy's Complaint had a punchline. "
— Travis, 2/12/2011 -
" Surely Roth is capable of much better. He needs to get away from his self-referential elderly male protagonists living out sexual and narcissistic fantasies. "
— Ken, 1/30/2011 -
" I need time to digest this one. I found it well written but need to consider the content more not because it was shocking but more because the main characters life declined so rapidly. "
— Gregory, 1/25/2011 -
" Short novel in which an elderly actor feels no longer able to act and begins to consider suicide. "
— Jack, 1/20/2011
About Philip Roth
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.”
About Dick Hill
Dick Hill, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, is one of the most awarded narrators in the business, having earned several Audie Awards and thirty-four AudioFile Earphones Awards. In addition to narrating, he has both acted in and written for the theater.