American Pastoral by Philip Roth
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
Philip Roth's masterpiece provides a piercing look into the promises of prosperity, civic order and domesticity in twentieth century America
'Swede' Levov is living the American dream. He glides through life cocooned by his devoted family, his demanding yet highly rewarding (and lucrative) business, his sporting prowess, his good looks. He is the embodiment of thriving, post-war America, land of liberty and hope. Until the sunny day in 1968, when the Swede's bountiful American luck deserts him.
The tragedy springs from devastatingly close to home. His adored daughter, Merry, has become a stranger to him, a fanatical teenager capable of an outlandishly savage act of political terrorism that plunges the Levov family into the political mayhem of sixties America, and drags them into the underbelly of a seemingly ascendant society. Rendered powerless by the shocking turn of events, the Swede can only watch as his pastoral idyll is methodically torn apart.
Extraordinarily nuanced and poignant, American Pastoral is the first in an eloquent trilogy of post-war American novels and cemented Roth's reputation as one of the greatest American novelists of the twentieth century.
'Full of insight, full of sharp ironic twists, full of wisdom about American idealism, and full of terrific fun... A profound and personal meditation on the changes in the American psyche over the last fifty years' - Financial Times
Format: Paperback | 432 pages
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.6 | 318g
Publication Date: 2016
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Imprint: Vintage Books
Publication City/Country: London, United Kingdom
Language: English
ISBN10: 0099771810
ISBN13: 9780099771814
Condition: Good
A book that has been read but is in good condition. Some obvious damage to the cover including scuff marks and a fair amount of creasing on the front cover, but no holes or tears. The majority of pages are undamaged with obvious creasing to the first 20 pages in the book, but no creasing after that, and no tearing. No pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. No missing pages. A slightly scruffy looking, but still a clean, solid, and readable copy.