When She Was Good

At its heart lies the marriage of Peter and Maureen Tarnopol, a gifted young writer and the woman who wants to be his muse but who instead is his nemesis. Their union is based on fraud and shored up by moral blackmail, but it is so perversely durable that, long after Maureen’s death, Peter is still trying—and failing—to write his way free of it.

The hero of Everyman is obsessed with mortality. As he reminds himself at one point, "I'm 34! Worry about oblivion when you're 75." But he cannot help himself. He is the ex-husband in three marriages gone wrong. He is the father of two sons who detest him, despite a daughter who adores him. A masterful portrait of one man's inner struggles, Everyman is a brilliant showcase for one of the world's most distinguished novelists.

Man sagt, dass sich ein großer Autor daran erweist, wie er Szenen von Liebe und Tod, von Sex und vom Sterben schreiben kann. Philip Roth kann beides. Als Nathan Zuckerman in seinem Roman Ghost Writer 1979 erstmals auftrat, war er 23 Jahre alt. Nun ist Roth Alter Ego 71 und wird uns in seinem neuesten Werk Exit Ghost ein letztes Mal begegnen: Er wird uns fehlen.

Patrimony, a true story, touches the emotions as strongly as anything Philip Roth has ever written. Roth watches as his 86-year-old father - famous for his vigor, his charm, and his repertoire of Newark recollections - battles with the brain tumor that will kill him. The son, full of love, anxiety, and dread, accompanies his father through each fearful stage of his final ordeal, and, as he does so, discloses the survivalist tenacity that has distinguished his father's long, stubborn engagement with life.

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.