i read the human stain in under 2 weeks because i wanted it to be over
― harbl, Thursday, 12 November 2009 17:56 (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
wtf
― Blue Collar Retail Assistant (Dwight Yorke), Thursday, 4 October 2012 13:12 (eleven years ago) link
ruh roh
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/09/philip_roth_im_done/
Philip Roth is calling it a career.In an interview with a French publication called Les inRocks last month — which does not appear to have been reported in the United States — Roth, 78, said he has not written anything new in the last three years, and that he will not write another novel.“To tell you the truth, I’m done,” Roth told the magazine, in the most definitive statement he has ever made about his future plans. “‘Nemesis’ will be my last book.”(The interview is published in French; we used an Internet program to translate his quotes into English. We asked his publisher, Houghton Mifflin, for confirmation. They reached out to Roth this morning. “He said it was true,” said Lori Glazer, vice president and executive director of publicity.)Roth said that at 74, realizing he was running out of years, he reread all his favorite novels, and then reread all his books in reverse chronological order. “I wanted to see if I had wasted my time writing,” he said. “And I thought it was rather successful. At the end of his life, the boxer Joe Louis said: “I did the best I could with what I had.” This is exactly what I would say of my work: I did the best I could with what I had.“And after that, I decided that I was done with fiction. I do not want to read, to write more,” he said. “I have dedicated my life to the novel: I studied, I taught, I wrote and I read. With the exclusion of almost everything else. Enough is enough! I no longer feel this fanaticism to write that I have experienced in my life.”
In an interview with a French publication called Les inRocks last month — which does not appear to have been reported in the United States — Roth, 78, said he has not written anything new in the last three years, and that he will not write another novel.
“To tell you the truth, I’m done,” Roth told the magazine, in the most definitive statement he has ever made about his future plans. “‘Nemesis’ will be my last book.”
(The interview is published in French; we used an Internet program to translate his quotes into English. We asked his publisher, Houghton Mifflin, for confirmation. They reached out to Roth this morning. “He said it was true,” said Lori Glazer, vice president and executive director of publicity.)
Roth said that at 74, realizing he was running out of years, he reread all his favorite novels, and then reread all his books in reverse chronological order. “I wanted to see if I had wasted my time writing,” he said. “And I thought it was rather successful. At the end of his life, the boxer Joe Louis said: “I did the best I could with what I had.” This is exactly what I would say of my work: I did the best I could with what I had.
“And after that, I decided that I was done with fiction. I do not want to read, to write more,” he said. “I have dedicated my life to the novel: I studied, I taught, I wrote and I read. With the exclusion of almost everything else. Enough is enough! I no longer feel this fanaticism to write that I have experienced in my life.”
― but the boo boyz are getting to (Z S), Friday, 9 November 2012 17:42 (eleven years ago) link
as much as it it's a shame, cause a weaker Roth is still better than most writers, i don't think he can reinvent himself again to write a really great book. especially due to the fact that there is some truth to the claim that he writes the same novel again and again.
― nostormo, Friday, 9 November 2012 18:35 (eleven years ago) link
I have very little time for Roth's writing but I really respect this as an artistic decision (and not just because fewer new roth books might mean fewer longfrm pieces about how Important he is).
― of course you end up shazaming yourself (c sharp major), Friday, 9 November 2012 18:39 (eleven years ago) link
I have never objected when an artist announces retirement: it takes courage.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 9 November 2012 18:41 (eleven years ago) link
p.s this things should be taken with a grain of salt of course.a person who wrote all his life, and books WERE his life, might say one thing, and do something else..
― nostormo, Friday, 9 November 2012 18:41 (eleven years ago) link
If true, I'm glad he bowed out with Nemesis rather than The Humbling.
― Deafening silence (DL), Friday, 9 November 2012 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
if true, does it mean he definitely wont win the nobel prize now?
― nostormo, Friday, 9 November 2012 18:45 (eleven years ago) link
Well, I doubt the Nobel committee would have The Humbling and Exit Ghost in mind when honoring him.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 9 November 2012 18:51 (eleven years ago) link
I had a little think about the most fitting way to pour one out, then decided it's probably best not to bother.
― Ismael Klata, Friday, 9 November 2012 18:54 (eleven years ago) link
exit ghost is radthis is like justin timberlake all over again
― absurdly pro-D (schlump), Friday, 9 November 2012 18:54 (eleven years ago) link
lol ismael
i really hope he circumvents this by just writing loads of non-fiction shit instead
― absurdly pro-D (schlump), Friday, 9 November 2012 18:55 (eleven years ago) link
as long as he wont "circumvents this by just writing loads of non-fiction shit instead"
― nostormo, Friday, 9 November 2012 18:59 (eleven years ago) link
an Autobiography would be nice though!
― nostormo, Friday, 9 November 2012 19:00 (eleven years ago) link
I wouldn't mind another Patrimony. Does he have another dying relative he can write about?
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 9 November 2012 19:01 (eleven years ago) link
himself?
― nostormo, Friday, 9 November 2012 19:01 (eleven years ago) link
too bad he already used the title The Dying Animal.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 9 November 2012 19:05 (eleven years ago) link
One of my favorite second winds. Still, what is the point of retiring publicly? Just don't write something. And then if you write something, no big deal.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 9 November 2012 19:37 (eleven years ago) link
i guess it's so that everyone will leave you alone for a while
― but the boo boyz are getting to (Z S), Friday, 9 November 2012 19:45 (eleven years ago) link
everybody, leave Philip Roth ALONE
Leave him alone on his mountain in upstate New York!
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 9 November 2012 19:47 (eleven years ago) link
By coincidence Gooblar's book arrived at my house this week. It's so beautifully bubblewrapped, I haven't dared open it.
― Ismael Klata, Friday, 9 November 2012 20:03 (eleven years ago) link
Still, what is the point of retiring publicly?Well, I guess if you get questions about it in an interview, you might as well say it? It's not like he issued a press release.Didn't he a year or two ago say he'd stopped reading novels too? Some rubbish about how he "wised up", iirc. Not too long before that, he talked about how he was rereading all those old favorites that he'd not read in years.
Uh, anyways, _Nemesis_ was a good 'un. Is this the point where we should start coming up with dumbass interpretations of it? Polio represents fiction and the Newark community is Philip Roth, and Cantor is, uh, "Philip Roth" the author. Ahem, yeah, I'm no lit major obv.
I wonder what goes on in an aging, famous author's head. Could totally understand worrying about some asshole publishing the shit you're just messing around with at the moment.
― Øystein, Friday, 9 November 2012 21:23 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/books/struggle-over-philip-roth-reflects-on-putting-down-his-pen.html?hp&_r=0
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 18 November 2012 15:42 (eleven years ago) link
the idea of writing standing up (i think hemingway said he did it, too?) is bizarre to me, but i'm not getting much done these days sitting down so maybe i should try it.
― THAT IS ONE BIG PIZZA (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Sunday, 18 November 2012 16:05 (eleven years ago) link
not quite as bizarre as richard powers's admission that he wrote whole novels in bed, but i think if i tried that i'd just nap a lot.
― THAT IS ONE BIG PIZZA (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Sunday, 18 November 2012 16:06 (eleven years ago) link
Roth seems pretty happy with life, I can't begrudge him his retirement.
― Ismael Klata, Sunday, 18 November 2012 16:10 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.historycommons.org/events-images/a589_rumsfeld_approves_memo_2050081722-7306.jpg
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 18 November 2012 16:12 (eleven years ago) link
like the article says, he had a better run in the last 15 years of his career than most writers get at any time, so yeah, enjoy playing with yr iphone phil, you earned it.
― THAT IS ONE BIG PIZZA (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Sunday, 18 November 2012 16:13 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/03/philip-roth-eightieth-birthday-celebration.html?mbid=social_retweet
― your fretless ways (Eazy), Thursday, 21 March 2013 14:28 (eleven years ago) link
i think the doc is available here, though it seems 2 say 'technical difficulties when i try to play it just now
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/philip-roth/film-philip-roth-unmasked/2467/
it's v good, as one of the co-directors mentions, it's mostly just roth talking abt his books, etc, which i cld prob listen 2 for 10 hrs tbh
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/philip-roth/film-comment-william-karel-co-writer-co-director/2565/
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 2 April 2013 15:07 (eleven years ago) link
also roth's own reaction to the doc
AM: What did Roth think about the final cut?
WK: When we sent him the finished film, we were anxious to know what his reaction would be. He replied to us with this delightful note:
I just finished watching it through. It’s very sad, really, isn’t it? But it’s well done and you all should be congratulated for your infinite patience and hard work and tact and taste and intelligence. I think it’s a fair and accurate portrait of this guy, and I have no complaints. And Mia is gorgeous, even if she isn’t allowed to tell all of mankind what a sweetheart I am. I thank you, Livia, and William, my shaggy-bearded Mickey Sabbath look-a-like, for doing an honorable and honest job. I gave the last interview of my life to the New York Times yesterday, about my retirement, which should result in a long story in the paper before the week is out, and I made certain to tell them about the program and when it will be aired. The struggle with writing is over. Hallelujah. I’m a free man. Free at last.–Philip Roth
NIXON: Roth is a bad man. He’s a horrible moral leper.
http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/nixon-asked-haldeman-philip-roth
― What is wrong with songs? Absolutely nothing. Songs are great. (DL), Thursday, 30 January 2014 21:22 (ten years ago) link
Funny. I'm reading the forced, confused When She Was Good.
― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 30 January 2014 21:32 (ten years ago) link
can the next thread about gender issues also be titled "ask me about the work of philip roth"
― mustread guy (schlump), Thursday, 30 January 2014 22:48 (ten years ago) link
That’s a blurb that would sell books: “‘well written but sickeningly filthy’ — H. R. Haldeman.”
― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 30 January 2014 22:53 (ten years ago) link
I recently accused a writer of a particularly bad Tablet Mag piece of "masturbating into a piece of liver"
― Burt Stuntin (Hurting 2), Thursday, 30 January 2014 23:08 (ten years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/books/review/my-life-as-a-writer.html?src=me&ref=general
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 4 March 2014 03:56 (ten years ago) link
He comes across as a self important bore in that interview. Still, I definitely agree that measuring a literary work against some prefab ideological framework is not just boring but also isn't "reading" in the highest sense of the word. He makes this argument in a sort of self-serving way and with little awareness or sympathy for the reasons people feel compelled to call out instances where they feel a writer is perpetuating corrosive attitudes though, so fuck him.
― Treeship, Tuesday, 4 March 2014 04:09 (ten years ago) link
i read Indignation recently after seeing the trailer for the movie. I couldn't make heads or tails what the thing was about, so I read it on a plane and enjoyed it quite a bit. Quick read. Saw that there's an American Pastoral movie coming out in October, bit of a longer book, thoughts on that one?
― flappy bird, Friday, 12 August 2016 17:37 (eight years ago) link