Philip Roth is one of the most highly regarded contemporary American authors, and this is the first novel of his that I have read.

I believe he is a great storyteller who very well reflects the problems of present-day American society. Drawing inspiration from the great Greek tragedies that are part of the curriculum his protagonist teaches at a small American university, he shows us how current tragedies are closer to farce than to the heroism of the classics.

Set in the summer of 1998, with American society shocked by the scandal of President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, this work examines the values of certain groups that take to extremes the norms of conduct that condition - and can ruin - the lives of individuals.

Racism, sexual relationships, hypocrisy in the life of the university community - all are called into question with great clarity. It is a cynical and disillusioned look that exposes the contradictions of a society that attempts to improve but does not always succeed - or so Philip Roth thinks.

L’opera di Philip Roth, I am increasingly convinced, is one great design, a sort of draft that the author has written over time, expanding his vision of life but always within some well-defined themes, the focal points of his existence.

Ethnic belonging, cultural belonging, geographical belonging, social belonging, and the total, absolute lack of belonging to any classification. There is nothing that can trap him, neither he nor, even less, his characters, small chips gone mad with an evil that here, in this great novel, are united by the fact of being ontologically evil itself.

An intense work, bitter as usual, but alive and perfectly capable of restoring that halo of incompleteness that tragically hovers over his best characters and, at the same time, over man himself. The Swede, a brilliant example of an apparently brilliant life, a fragmented identity, Sabbath, a ridiculous counterfigure of what could have been a man, and now the brilliant Professor Coleman Silk, mocked by the logos, thought and word that incarnate him as a fiction of himself.

A black man who pretends to be white, who acts out his existence on a razor’s edge, a sharp blade that could cut his flesh at any moment. But not only tragic characters, as we know, in the case of Seymour Levov and Coleman Silk himself, the balance is restored with the expedient of the weighted narrator, the one who plays the role of witness to the events and new Theodorus, capable of illuminating the dark points of an existence while delivering it to the readers by the hand of its own inventor.

Nathan Zuckerman, the alter ego of Philip Roth, is our mentor once again, the one who will guide us to give meaning to the existence just represented. The epilogue of this novel, in fact, while generating the same questions raised by Sabbath’s para-infernal experience, leaves the reader in a completely different state, in the acceptance of a terrible, cruel destiny.

Realizing that I have not at all talked about the novel, I hand it over to future readers, completely satisfied with a reading that once again offers a disenchanted vision of man, of America, of its false myth of “happy and progressive fates” that shatter in the inability of a deficient and incomplete educational system, in the false myth of the melting pot and in the total inadequacy of its political class. Roth calls Pirandello, for the purely philosophical part, as America calls Italy for the socio-cultural and political context. Never so close, we lack Vietnam but the boys of ’99 were not so far from the Americans when they became “war fools”.

Dio mio, Roth!

You are truly an amazing individual. Your talent and creativity seem to know no bounds. Whether it's in the written word, in art, or in any other field you choose to explore, you always manage to leave a lasting impression.

Your work is like a breath of fresh air, bringing new perspectives and ideas to the table. It has the power to inspire and move people, to make them think and feel things they never thought possible.

You have this unique ability to capture the essence of a moment, to translate emotions into something tangible and beautiful. It's no wonder that so many people look up to you and admire your work.

Keep on shining, Roth. Your light is照亮 the world, and we can't wait to see what you'll come up with next.

[warning: spoiler!]

The aspect that intrigues me about this novel is straightforwardly how it is narrated. The narrator, Nathan Zuckerman, is also a character, albeit a relatively minor one initially, but his importance grows as the story unfolds. He is not omniscient, yet this is easily forgotten as the novel is written as if he were. Roth delicately handles the narrative, repeatedly setting up readers to prejudge characters before they are fully introduced. This leads to a constant reevaluation of the various people in the novel, as we attempt to determine their true nature. This is especially evident with Coleman Silk, who lives as a white man until we discover he is black, forcing us to rethink our initial assessment and our own prejudices about race and identity.

Silk is the most prominent figure and absorbs much of the reader's focus. When first introduced, he rages about his unfair treatment at the college. As Dean Silk, he was tough but respectable, culling the faculty and bringing in new staff. However, he is unfairly accused of racism and finds himself alone. Later, we see the same events from Delphine Roux's perspective. A Yale graduate, Delphine and Coleman have constant disagreements. It is from her perspective that we learn of Silk's impatience with some students. This type of perspective switch occurs frequently, making the novel seem to lack a core narrative thread. Even Nathan Zuckerman's voice is suspect, as there is no single reliable account of events.

For me, Roth seems to be questioning what we expect from literature. Do we want characters who are clearly good or bad, easy to judge? Or is he forcing us to question why we read literature in the first place? Do we seek that authorial narrative voice that is absent from our daily lives?

Human Stain

I knew Philip Roth in "anger", but I really got to know him here, in this amazing novel that will make you laugh from the depths and through which you will meet one of the greatest characters created by literature, (Coleman Silk) the black man who denies his origins and his family and has lived his whole life as a white man, so white that it is ridiculous that he is fired from the university in his later years after being accused of racism, and against!!! Against two black students!!

In 1998 in America, the eyes of all Americans are turned towards the White House, the scandal of Monica Lewinsky shakes the president's chair, and in Athena University, the chair of the respected Dr. Coleman Silk falls after he utters a small word that has two meanings, one of which is racist. Thus, he finds himself facing accusations of racism, which he confronts with anger and rage. And during two years of struggle, his wife dies. After her funeral, he turns to the narrator of the story, Nathan Zuckerman - Philip Roth used this character in two other novels, considering them along with "Human Stain" a trilogy - who is a writer who asks Coleman to write a book about his life and what he has been through. Thus... The doors open for us, we get to know Coleman Silk's past and the truth that he is of black origin, we get to know his father and his family, we get to know his emotional life that ends with Faunia Farley, the woman with whom he has an emotional relationship, although she is half his age and although she is an illiterate cleaner. In contrast, he is a university professor and an intellectual.

The novel is filled with lively characters that Roth cares about very much and presents their lives to us frankly, from Coleman Silk to his French mistress, Delphine Roux, to the troubled lover Faunia Farley, and her ex-soldier husband, Les Farley - who returned from Vietnam mentally and emotionally damaged - all of these characters Roth writes with care and reveals to us their intellectual and emotional developments in an intertwined and brilliant narrative way.

Roth's narrative style is what really amazed me. All this intertwining between Coleman and his past, Delphine and her Parisian life, Faunia and her sufferings, and Les and his madness, this is in addition to the great scandal in the White House. All of this Roth writes without a moment of hesitation, without a break despite the 648 pages - a very thin paperback edition -.

Although I encountered some low moments during the reading and dragged the book for about 20 days, the experience was unique. The last hundred pages are absolutely superb.

All the characters are developed in the most in-depth detail and towards all of them, one develops compassion even though their actions are mostly blameworthy at first sight.

The supreme conclusion is that the second experience with the author was even better than the first one. ❤️ This book has truly left a deep impression on me. It made me think deeply about various aspects of life and human nature. The author's writing style is captivating, and the story unfolds in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Despite the initial challenges in getting through the book, the final payoff was well worth it. I look forward to reading more works by this author in the future.

Brilliant.

In 1998 in America, there was the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton sex scandal, the organic farming movement, and the prevalence of political correctness. There was also the issue of race. An ex-professor, his lover, a war vet, and his children. And a secret.

This is the bookend to the America trilogy, which includes American Pastoral (set in the 1970s) and I Married a Communist (set in the 1950s). This series presents Roth's reflections on America over the last half century.

The stories are gritty, turbulent, and disturbing. Like every Roth story, they are raw and challenging. His language is genius, and his candor is brutally honest.

Some will love this book; others will hate it. For me, it was impossible to put down.

Despite the fact that I Married a Communist didn't reach the same heights for me as American Pastoral and The Human Stain, I still marvel at Roth's trilogy. It exposes America completely and openly.

Revised 22 May 2018. Philip Roth has passed away at the age of 85. His words were truly wonderful.

Having watched the movie, I initially believed that the book wouldn't manage to keep my interest. However, I was wrong. Coleman Silk is an extremely interesting character. His story makes you wonder if someone can truly be free by leaving behind what they were and creating themselves from scratch, and if the new life they create will have the outcome they desire. Can someone really have a better life if they leave behind their old life and everything they believed were obstacles to their success?

The other characters that surround Coleman Silk are tragic figures, each for their own reasons. They react and try to adjust to what life has thrown at them, and like in real life, not all get their moment of purification. The human stain is a very good book and my first attempt at Philip Roth's writing style. I'm sufficiently intrigued to read more books written by him in the future.

Έχοντας δει την ταινία, πίστευα αρχικά πως το βιβλίο δεν θα καταφέρει να μου κρατήσει το ενδιαφέρον. Ωστόσο, έκανα λάθος. Ο Κόλμαν Σιλκ είναι ένας εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέροντας χαρακτήρας. Η ιστορία του σε κάνει να αναρωτιέσαι αν κάποιος μπορεί πραγματικά να είναι ελεύθερος αφήνοντας πίσω του αυτό που ήταν και δημιουργώντας τον εαυτό του από την αρχή, και αν η νέα ζωή που θα δημιουργήσει θα έχει το αποτέλεσμα που επιθυμεί. Μπορεί τελικά κάποιος να έχει μια καλύτερη ζωή αν αφήσει πίσω του όσα πιστεύει πως του είναι εμπόδια;

Οι χαρακτήρες που τον πλαισιώνουν είναι ο καθένας με τον τρόπο του ένας τραγικός ήρωας που αντιδρά και προσπαθεί να προσαρμοστεί στις συνθήκες που του έριξε η ζωή στο δρόμο του και όπως στην πραγματική ζωή, μπορεί να μην έρθει ποτέ η στιγμή της κάθαρσης για όλους. Ένα πολύ καλό βιβλίο που πιστεύω πως πρέπει να διαβαστεί. Πρώτη μου επαφή επίσης με το συγγραφικό στυλ του Philip Roth και μπορώ να πω πως μου κέντρισε αρκετά το ενδιαφέρον για να διαβάσω στο μέλλον και άλλα του βιβλία.

A wonderful novel, it's a pity not to read it...

Professor Coleman Silk, a classics scholar and former dean of Athena College, is accused of racism (even though he is black himself) for using the term "spook" (ghost, specter) without any pejorative intention in reference to two students of color. He refuses to apologize (and he had no reason to) and resigns. Coleman has a relationship with the much younger Faunia Farley. The two die in a car accident, and it is likely that Lester Farley, Faunia's ex-husband and a Vietnam War veteran suffering from what doctors call "post-traumatic stress," is not a stranger to it. Generally speaking, that's about the plot of the novel, and it's better to stop here...

Although the narrator of the events is, once again, Nathan Zuckerman, he seems to know much more than a particular narrator is allowed to know about the other characters. In Philip Roth's works, the particular narrator often becomes omniscient. Here is the explanation of this "science": "How do I know? I don't know. I don't know that either. I have no way of knowing. And now that both of them are dead, no one can know anymore. Maybe it's good, maybe it's not, but all I can do is what anyone who believes they know does. I imagine. I'm forced to imagine. And, incidentally, that's how I make my living. It's my job. It's all I do now" (p. 279).

Nathan Zuckerman's omniscience (or the virtues of his imagination) offers us several extraordinary interior monologues. The most dramatic one is, of course, Lester Farley's. He was in Vietnam, witnessed indescribable atrocities, and when he returned home, he realized he was regarded as a pitiful man. He stays in hospitals, is medicated, and his former colleagues try to help him. It's not easy to judge such a character. He doesn't arouse the reader's indignation. In fact, all of Philip Roth's characters are difficult, if not impossible, to judge. Can you condemn the ambitious professor Delphine Roux, the one who forces Coleman to resign just because she asks him to present a feminist analysis of Greek tragedies in class? Certainly not...

It was natural that this novel would not please "the ideologues." Philip Roth was once again accused of disregarding the noble ideals of political correctness. But by banning words or replacing them with barbaric phrases, you don't cure reality. You remain at the level of magical thinking.

The Human Stain is a scathing description of human hypocrisy and cowardice.

P.S. Despite a prestigious cast (Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins), the movie made from this novel unfortunately remains a melodrama. Roth's novel is much better...

The third book of the unorthodox trilogy continues to follow the same pattern as the previous two books.

In this reading, Zuckerman, a writer and the alter ego of Roth, plays a crucial role in the development of the narrative.

The characters in the story are oppressed by fate throughout their lives, marked by the social stigma of the era.

Coleman and Fiona, the central heroes, are two desperate souls seeking salvation through their relationship.

Coleman is a hero who desires to escape from social stereotypes and acts in a way to flee from any kind of subjugation, hoping for his freedom.

Roth plays with the oppositions. The life of the protagonist's ancestors is in contrast to his own life. He fights alone to survive, refusing to accept the help of his parents.

A hero - fighter who, however, hides elements of himself and bases his life on a lie.

Although he fights daily, he flirts with failure and defeat. He is emotionally weak and insecure. However, he opposes his cowardice and impotence and for the first time acts bravely in his life after falling in love with a girl, creating a victim - victim relationship.

Roth attempts through this work to reflect the social perceptions and prejudices regarding the origin of people. The aim is to undermine the image of America by presenting the incident that exposed the president of the White House.

Caustic, realistic, and cynical, he strips away the veneer and examines the events with brutality and nakedness.

A cry of outrage against the dehumanization and degradation of American society.

A work of self-awareness and search for the self.

Roth writes, and one comments, “it is so,” and he does everything on his own. The reader can only nod more or less vigorously. I would define him as a precise and calculating engineer, ready to predict any variant, any objection to his construction. It is sufficient to delve into the reading and all the answers are given, the doubts dissipated.

If one loves spontaneous, free-flowing writing, do not read Roth, or rather, Roth is spontaneous in his precision. Nothing is written gratuitously. From this comes his great seriousness as a writer, with some trace (small, small) of pedantry. He is a professor from whose chair he traces the difficult line of separation between what is acceptable (to oneself and to others) and what is not acceptable (to oneself and to others), a line that often breaks, that draws large curves, that bypasses obstacles, that stops and then starts again, that climbs and then runs downhill.

Therefore, I believe that I cannot comment on anything but only stick two post-its for my memory on two topics that are dear to me, provincialism - and not necessarily geographical - and widespread mediocrity, and also on this occasion it is Roth who writes them, on page 314: “The Devil of the Small Town: the gossip, the jealousies, the acrimony, the boredom, the lies. No, the provincial poisons do not help. Here people are bored, envious, their life is what it is and what it will always be, and so, without seriously doubting history, they relate it: on the phone, on the street, in the canteen, in the classroom. They relate it, at home, to their husbands and wives.”

And then, through the voice of Ernestine, the dark and lucid conscience of Silk, on page 355: “Today the student flaunts his inability as if it were a privilege. I can't learn it, so there must be something wrong. And the bad teacher who tries to teach it must have something particularly wrong.”

I began reading Philip Roth as a teenager, starting with "Goodbye Columbus, and Five Other Stories." I vividly remember being completely wowed by that experience, and it sparked a lifelong habit of regularly reading Roth's works. After finishing "The Human Stain," I took a moment to count, and I realized that I have read thirteen of his novels and one short story collection. Some of these works have truly resonated deeply with me, while others were just okay. Although much time has passed since I read many of them, I am confident in stating that "The Human Stain" is the best Philip Roth novel that I have read to date. It is still very much Roth, which means it won't be to everyone's taste, but for me, it was absolutely fantastic.

Nathan Zuckerman is the narrator, as in so many of Roth's novels, and he serves as a stand-in for Roth himself. However, Coleman Silk is the character on which the novel truly stands. Coleman is a much more distinctive and memorable character than many of Roth's other protagonists. He has recently stepped down from his powerful position as the Dean of Faculty at Athena College and plans to spend his last few years teaching Greek and Roman literature, as he did at the beginning of his career. Coleman has a secret that Roth expertly unravels throughout the novel. Unlike many of Roth's other novels, I found myself reading this one quickly, eager to learn more about Coleman Silk and his secret. I was also strongly attracted to many of the other characters in the novel. None of them were perfect, just like real people, but their characteristics were so clearly drawn that they were easy to envision. I found myself liking and admiring several of them.

I thought this work was different from many others by Roth. He placed more emphasis on plot and character development and spent less time proselytizing and showing off his intellectual powers. "The Human Stain" was published in 2000. While Roth's health was declining, his skills as a writer were clearly at their peak. The excerpt below is from the review of the novel by one of my GoodReads friends, and I wholeheartedly agree with it:

\\n  I'm not sure who Roth sold his soul to, but Roth's run of Novels: Operation Shylock (1993), Sabbath's Theater (1995), American Pastoral (1997), I Married a Communist (1998) and The Human Stain (2000) can only be thought of as the greatest run of novels produced by ANY writer at any time. Maybe Shakespeare had a better run. Maybe Proust. Maybe. For me, these five novels, ending with The Human Stain, are the apex of 20th Century writing.\\n