THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Philip Roth: Facing the Consequences

By JOSEPH COHEN . Zuckerman is not a question
NEW ORLEANS — With over which to lose any sleep;
the publication of "The what is almost certain to
Anatomy Lesson" (Farrar, occur is that he will return
Straus and Giroux), Philip to the all encompassing sub-
Roth has completed his tril- ject of the trilogy, genera-
ogy, begun with "The Ghost tional conflict, like a thief to
Writer" (1979), and fol- the scene of the crime.
Generational conflict
lowed by "Zuckerman Un-
bound" (1981), centering on expressed through the
the life and exasperations of rebellious flight of the
Nathan Zuckerman, author son from the authority,
decency, dignity and con-
extraordinaire.
tinuity of the father,
Even with the trilogy amounting, for writer
ended, I, for one, doubt that and Jewish reader alike,
we have heard the last of to an annoying repudia-
PHILIP ROTH
"Zuck," whose name, given tion of Jewish values,
Roth's penchant for name- has, for Roth, turned into one day, I thought, justify
games (for "Neil Klugman"- an obsession not unlike his excesses. I am not so cer-
in Goodbye Columbus read Captain Ahab's mono- tain of that any longer.
"not smart") conjures up mania, the white whale in
He reminds me more
appropriately in this in- "Moby Dick."
and more of F. Scott
stance the typical Roth pro-
Recognizing the extent to
tagonist's sexually which Roth has allowed Fitzgerald, confusing
himself in his books with
exploitative proclivities.
himself to be carried away
Whether Roth returns to by his obsession is cause for his protagonist, filled
with self-pity, stalked by
despair. I have long been guilt, haunted by failure
convinced that "Goodbye (not of the tax-shelter but
Columbus" is one of a hand- the heart), over-reacting
ful
of modern American to the jibes and taunts of
Leave Everything to Us
classics which will endure; his critics, and yet, pos-
and that "Portnoy's Com- sessed of a unique talent
plaint" carried with it a that is being dribbled
warning about the decline away.
of Jewish values worth lis-
The trilogy axed, espe-
tening to, however much of cially, "The Anatomy Les-
the ranting and raving in- son," depicts the life of a
terfered with our hearing writer who has a brilliant
the message.
early success (read Roth's
Moreover, I have never "Goodbye Columbus" for
believed that the American Zuckerman's "Higher Edu-
Jewish community was so cation") folio-wing it up a
vulnerable or weak as to few years later with another
have to wring its hands in smashing success (read
shame over any literary "Portnoy's Complaint" for
dirty linen washed in pub- '"Carnovsky") that bring
Wyn & Harold Landis
lic. I was chagrined when it the writer, fame and for-
did so. It should not have tune, and a reputation for
seemed all that important besmirching Jewish family
life, most notably his own
to us what the goyim think.
Phone 557-6157
As human beings we have but others' by extension,
our follies just as they have which amid the ensuing up-
• STYLE
theirs.
What seemed impor- roar gains for him a
• ELEGANCE
tant to me was that Roth deathbed curse from his
• BEAUTY
had this magnificent talent, father, estrangement from
WYN-HAROLD CATERING
was still young, and would his brother, and a sharp re-
buke from one of of Ameri-
ca's most powerful Jewish
Music by
literary critics (read Irving
Howe, with a dash of Marie
Syrkin thrown in, for "Mil-
Big or small, we custom
ton Appel"), writing in the
the musk to your needs.
American Jewish commu-
968-2563
nity's most powerful intel-
lectual journal (read Com-
mentary for Inquiry, and,
for its editor, Norman
Podhoretz, read "Mortimer
Horowitz").
In retrospect, it is increas-
ingly apparent that Roth
was and is a writer who can
dish it out but who can't
take it. "The Anatomy Les-
soh" is nothing if it is not a
defiant over-reaction to the
Now intro i cing owFacial with a lift...
criticism of "Goodbye Col-
Just . time for the Holidays!
umbus"
and "Portnoy's
More an an hour of pure pampering
Complaint" that by now
Collagen tre
ent. Cleansing. facial mask, moisturizing,
ought to be ancient history.
including the extraordinary
He has already responded in
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that will help to soften and diminish the lines
ing Myself and Others."
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irony and insight.
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bitterness; there is no

!!

WHY WORRY !!

HOME CATERING

Sam Barnett

FACIAL
with a lift

parts company from Be-
llow and Malamud to
whom he has often been
linked in the past. His ob-
session turns his trilogy
into polemic, insuring
that in the lengths to
whicIrZuckerman goes to
demolish the enemy,
Appel for Howe, the work
will fail as literature.
Still, this much may be
said. Lessons are instruct-
ive and "The Anatomy Les-
son" appears to be teaching
us something. It gives us a
writer who has a colossal
pain in the neck, a pain so
excruciating that he can no
longer escape from it. The
cause is undetermined, but
Roth makes it clear that
Zuckerman is suffering
from the world's worst case
of Jewish guilt. It im-
mobilizes his upper body —
nothing, apparently, will
stop the lower half — as a
result of all the damage his
books have caused.
"Shoulders are from God, -
and burdens, too," I. B.
Singer's Gimpel says, and if
Zuckerman's shoulders are
pain-wracked he may be
headed for redemption
though not all fools are
propelled toward sainthood.
Redemption in Zucker-
man's case (should we say in
Roth's case?) would have to
be preceded by giving up
writing, and sheer pain does
force him to stop.
Subsequently, he falls on
his face, a long overdue act,
smashing his mouth, and as
it must be wired shut, he is
also precluded from talking.
Zuckerman wants to aban-
don his career as a writer to
become a doctor, a healer of
humankind, rather than a
destroyer. Could it be that
Roth realizes that he has
gone too far and is now in
search of some ameliorating
atonement?
Some may wish to think
so. I prefer to see "The
Anatomy Lesson" simply as
the inevitable end-product
of his response to the earlier
controversies. That is to say
that anger runs rampant
here, soon outdistancing
literature.

.

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Friday, December 9, 153 21

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