Reviews
"A terrific political novel. . . . Sinister, vivid, dreamlike . . . creepily plausible. . . . You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." "-- The New York Times Book Review "Huge, inflammatory, painfully moving. . . . Far and away the most outward-looking, expansive . . . book Roth has written." "-The Washington Post Book World "Roth's most powerfrul book to date. Confounding and illuminating, enraging and discomfiting, imaginative and utterly-terrifyingly-believable." --" San Francisco Chronicle "Once again, Philip Roth has published a novel that you must read-"now . . . . A stunning work." "-The Christian Science Monitor "It's not a prophecy; it's a nightmare, and it becomes more nightmarish-and also funnier and more bizarre-as is goes along. . . . [A] sinuous and brilliant book, with its extreme sweetness, its black pain, and its low, ceaseless cackle." -"The New Yorker "Ambitious and chilling. . . a breath-taking leap of imagination. . . . The writing is brilliant." "-USA Today "Intimately observed characters in situations fraught with society's deepest, most bitter tensions. . . . Too ingeniously excruciating to put down." -"Newsweek "Never has [Roth's voice] been more nuanced . . . beautifully particularized. . . . [A] novelist who for 45 years has been continuously reinventing himself, never more notably than in The Plot Against America." "-The Boston Globe "Ingenious . . . Roth's gorgeous and forceful prose, which swirls and dances and rages . . . has never seemed more precise and lucid." -"Star-Telegram (Dallas/Fort Worth) "Raises the stakes as high as a patriotic novel can take them. . . . Effortlessly, it seems, Roth has led us tosuspend disbelief; then he makes us believe; then he suspends this belief and finally removes it. . . . A fabulous yarn." -"Los Angeles Times Book Review "A remarkable act of historical imagination and one of [Roth's] most moving novels." -"People "Roth takes readers on a harrowing safari across interdimensional borders into a bizarre version of his hometown. . . . [His] delivery is so matter-of-fact, so documentary deadpan that when we're 10 pages into the book our own world starts to seem like a flimsy fantasy." -"Time "The most compelling of living writers. . . . [His] every book is like a dispatch from the deepest recesses of the national mind." "-New York Magazine "A richly terrifying historical novel. . . . [Roth is] the greatest fiction writer America has ever produced." -"Esquire "The writing is extraordinary, complex but highly readable, evocative, and colored with a tenderness and affection. . . . This is one of Roth's finest books." -"O (The Oprah Magazine) "Provocative. . . . At times, deeply affecting. . . . An intimate glimpse of one family's harrowing encounter with history." "-The New York Times "A harrowing novel of political psychology. . . . It may be the saddest book Roth has written and the most frightening." "-The Village Voice "An epic built-painstakingly, passionately, nearly perfectly-of the small structures of the particular. . . . Roth is at the peak of his powers, and he may have more for us yet." -"The Times [London] "The newest triumph in what is surely the most prolific late blossoming in literary history. Roth is writing the best books of his life, chronicling the American century...Today's artists need to tell usabout our world, but maybe they need to do it in camouflage. Philip Roth, an old master, has shown the way." "-The Guardian "One of the world's most brilliant writers... His words fly off the page, his sentences gathering a momentum that hauls the reader along to a place beyond mere critical appraisal." "-The Observer "In The Plot against America, Philip Roth has reasserted the supremacy of the novel over all other literary forms. This is the first fictional masterpiece of the 21st century, and it rings entirely true." -"Evening Standard, "A terrific political novel. . . . Sinister, vivid, dreamlike . . . creepily plausible. . . . You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." - The New York Times Book Review "Huge, inflammatory, painfully moving. . . . Far and away the most outward-looking, expansive . . . book Roth has written." The Washington Post Book World "Roth's most powerfrul book to date. Confounding and illuminating, enraging and discomfiting, imaginative and utterlyterrifyinglybelievable." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Once again, Philip Roth has published a novel that you must read now . . . . A stunning work." The Christian Science Monitor "It's not a prophecy; it's a nightmare, and it becomes more nightmarishand also funnier and more bizarreas is goes along. . . . [A] sinuous and brilliant book, with its extreme sweetness, its black pain, and its low, ceaseless cackle." The New Yorker "Ambitious and chilling. . . a breath-taking leap of imagination. . . . The writing is brilliant." USA Today "Intimately observed characters in situations fraught with society's deepest, most bitter tensions. . . . Too ingeniously excruciating to put down." Newsweek "Never has [Roth's voice] been more nuanced . . . beautifully particularized. . . . [A] novelist who for 45 years has been continuously reinventing himself, never more notably than in The Plot Against America ." The Boston Globe "Ingenious . . . Roth's gorgeous and forceful prose, which swirls and dances and rages . . . has never seemed more precise and lucid." Star-Telegram (Dallas/Fort Worth) "Raises the stakes as high as a patriotic novel can take them. . . . Effortlessly, it seems, Roth has led us to suspend disbelief; then he makes us believe; then he suspends this belief and finally removes it. . . . A fabulous yarn." Los Angeles Times Book Review "A remarkable act of historical imagination and one of [Roth's] most moving novels." People "Roth takes readers on a harrowing safari across interdimensional borders into a bizarre version of his hometown. . . . [His] delivery is so matter-of-fact, so documentary deadpan that when we're 10 pages into the book our own world starts to seem like a flimsy fantasy." Time "The most compelling of living writers. . . . [His] every book is like a dispatch from the deepest recesses of the national mind." New York Magazine "A richly terrifying historical novel. . . . [Roth is] the greatest fiction writer America has ever produced." Esquire "The writing is extraordinary, complex but highly readable, evocative, and colored with a tenderness and affection. . . . This is one of Roth's finest books." O (The Oprah Magazine) " Provocative. . . . At times, deeply affecting. . . . An intimate glimpse of one family''s harrowing encounter with history." The New York Times "A harrowing novel of political psychology. . . . It may be the saddest book Roth has written and the most frightening." The Village Voice "An epic builtpainstakingly, passionately, nearly perfectlyof the small structures of the particular. . . . Roth is at the peak of his powers, and he may have more for us yet." The Times [London] "The newest triumph in what is surely the most prolific late blossoming in literary history. Roth is writing the best books of his life, chronicling the American century…Today's artists need to tell us about our world, but maybe they need to do it in camouflage. Philip Roth, an old master, has shown the way." The Guardian "One of the world''s most brilliant writers… His words fly off the page, his sentences gathering a momentum that hauls the reader along to a place beyond mere critical appraisal." The Observer "In The Plot against America , Philip Roth has reasserted the supremacy of the novel over all other literary forms. This is the first fictional masterpiece of the 21st century, and it rings entirely true." Evening Standard, "A terrific political novel. . . . Sinister, vivid, dreamlike . . . creepily plausible. . . . You turn the pages, astonished and frightened."- The New York Times Book Review "Huge, inflammatory, painfully moving. . . . Far and away the most outward-looking, expansive . . . book Roth has written."The Washington Post Book World "Roth's most powerfrul book to date. Confounding and illuminating, enraging and discomfiting, imaginative and utterlyterrifyinglybelievable." --San Francisco Chronicle "Once again, Philip Roth has published a novel that you must readnow. . . . A stunning work."The Christian Science Monitor "It's not a prophecy; it's a nightmare, and it becomes more nightmarishand also funnier and more bizarreas is goes along. . . . [A] sinuous and brilliant book, with its extreme sweetness, its black pain, and its low, ceaseless cackle." The New Yorker "Ambitious and chilling. . . a breath-taking leap of imagination. . . . The writing is brilliant."USA Today "Intimately observed characters in situations fraught with society's deepest, most bitter tensions. . . . Too ingeniously excruciating to put down." Newsweek "Never has [Roth's voice] been more nuanced . . . beautifully particularized. . . . [A] novelist who for 45 years has been continuously reinventing himself, never more notably than inThe Plot Against America."The Boston Globe "Ingenious . . . Roth's gorgeous and forceful prose, which swirls and dances and rages . . . has never seemed more precise and lucid." Star-Telegram(Dallas/Fort Worth) "Raises the stakes as high as a patriotic novel can take them. . . . Effortlessly, it seems, Roth has led us to suspend disbelief; then he makes us believe; then he suspends this belief and finally removes it. . . . A fabulous yarn." Los Angeles Times Book Review "A remarkable act of historical imagination and one of [Roth's] most moving novels." People "Roth takes readers on a harrowing safari across interdimensional borders into a bizarre version of his hometown. . . . [His] delivery is so matter-of-fact, so documentary deadpan that when we're 10 pages into the book our own world starts to seem like a flimsy fantasy." Time "The most compelling of living writers. . . . [His] every book is like a dispatch from the deepest recesses of the national mind."New York Magazine "A richly terrifying historical novel. . . . [Roth is] the greatest fiction writer America has ever produced." Esquire "The writing is extraordinary, complex but highly readable, evocative, and colored with a tenderness and affection. . . . This is one of Roth's finest books." O(The Oprah Magazine) "Provocative. . . . At times, deeply affecting. . . . An intimate glimpse of one family's harrowing encounter with history."The New York Times "A harrowing novel of political psychology. . . . It may be the saddest book Roth has written and the most frightening."The Village Voice "An epic builtpainstakingly, passionately, nearly perfectlyof the small structures of the particular. . . . Roth is at the peak of his powers, and he may ha, " A terrific political novel. . . . Sinister, vivid, dreamlike . . . creepily plausible. . . . You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." "-- The New York Times Book Review" " Huge, inflammatory, painfully moving. . . . Far and away the most outward-looking, expansive . . . book Roth has written." "- The Washington Post Book World" " Roth' s most powerfrul book to date. Confounding and illuminating, enraging and discomfiting, imaginative and utterly- terrifyingly- believable." --" San Francisco Chronicle" " Once again, Philip Roth has published a novel that you must read- "now" . . . . A stunning work." "- The Christian Science Monitor" " It' s not a prophecy; it' s a nightmare, and it becomes more nightmarish- and also funnier and more bizarre- as is goes along. . . . [A] sinuous and brilliant book, with its extreme sweetness, its black pain, and its low, ceaseless cackle." - "The New Yorker" " Ambitious and chilling. . . a breath-taking leap of imagination. . . . The writing is brilliant." "- USA Today" " Intimately observed characters in situations fraught with society' s deepest, most bitter tensions. . . . Too ingeniously excruciating to put down." - "Newsweek" " Never has [Roth' s voice] been more nuanced . . . beautifully particularized. . . . [A] novelist who for 45 years has been continuously reinventing himself, never more notably than in The Plot Against America." "- The Boston Globe" " Ingenious . . . Roth' s gorgeous and forcefulprose, which swirls and dances and rages . . . has never seemed more precise and lucid." - "Star-Telegram" (Dallas/Fort Worth) " Raises the stakes as high as a patriotic novel can take them. . . . Effortlessly, it seems, Roth has led us to suspend disbelief; then he makes us believe; then he suspends this belief and finally removes it. . . . A fabulous yarn." - "Los Angeles Times Book Review" " A remarkable act of historical imagination and one of [Roth' s] most moving novels." - "People" " Roth takes readers on a harrowing safari across interdimensional borders into a bizarre version of his hometown. . . . [His] delivery is so matter-of-fact, so documentary deadpan that when we' re 10 pages into the book our own world starts to seem like a flimsy fantasy." - "Time" " The most compelling of living writers. . . . [His] every book is like a dispatch from the deepest recesses of the national mind." "- New York Magazine" " A richly terrifying historical novel. . . . [Roth is] the greatest fiction writer America has ever produced." - "Esquire" " The writing is extraordinary, complex but highly readable, evocative, and colored with a tenderness and affection. . . . This is one of Roth' s finest books." - "O" (The Oprah Magazine) " Provocative. . . . At times, deeply affecting. . . . An intimate glimpse of one family's harrowing encounter with history." "- The New York Times" " A harrowing novel of political psychology. . . . It may be the saddest book Roth has written and the most frightening." "- The Village Voice" " An epic built- painstakingly, passionately, nearly perfectly- of the small structures of the particular. . . . Roth is at the peak of his powers, and he may have more for us yet." - "The Times" [London] " The newest triumph in what is surely the most prolific late blossoming in literary history. Roth is writing the best books of his life, chronicling the American century... Today' s artists need to tell us about our world, but maybe they need to do it in camouflage. Philip Roth, an old master, has shown the way." "- The Guardian" " One of the world's most brilliant writers... His words fly off the page, his sentences gathering a momentum that hauls the reader along to a place beyond mere critical appraisal." "- The Observer" " In The Plot against America, Philip Roth has reasserted the supremacy of the novel over all other literary forms. This is the first fictional masterpiece of the 21st cent, "A terrific political novel. . . . Sinister, vivid, dreamlike . . . creepily plausible. . . . You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." - The New York Times Book Review "Huge, inflammatory, painfully moving. . . . Far and away the most outward-looking, expansive . . . book Roth has written." The Washington Post Book World "Roth's most powerfrul book to date. Confounding and illuminating, enraging and discomfiting, imaginative and utterlyterrifyinglybelievable." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Once again, Philip Roth has published a novel that you must readnow . . . . A stunning work." The Christian Science Monitor "It's not a prophecy; it's a nightmare, and it becomes more nightmarishand also funnier and more bizarreas is goes along. . . . [A] sinuous and brilliant book, with its extreme sweetness, its black pain, and its low, ceaseless cackle." The New Yorker "Ambitious and chilling. . . a breath-taking leap of imagination. . . . The writing is brilliant." USA Today "Intimately observed characters in situations fraught with society's deepest, most bitter tensions. . . . Too ingeniously excruciating to put down." Newsweek "Never has [Roth's voice] been more nuanced . . . beautifully particularized. . . . [A] novelist who for 45 years has been continuously reinventing himself, never more notably than in The Plot Against America." The Boston Globe "Ingenious . . . Roth's gorgeous and forceful prose, which swirls and dances and rages . . . has never seemed more precise and lucid." Star-Telegram (Dallas/Fort Worth) "Raises the stakes as high as a patriotic novel can take them. . . . Effortlessly, it seems, Roth has led us to suspend disbelief; then he makes us believe; then he suspends this belief and finally removes it. . . . A fabulous yarn." Los Angeles Times Book Review "A remarkable act of historical imagination and one of [Roth's] most moving novels." People "Roth takes readers on a harrowing safari across interdimensional borders into a bizarre version of his hometown. . . . [His] delivery is so matter-of-fact, so documentary deadpan that when we're 10 pages into the book our own world starts to seem like a flimsy fantasy." Time "The most compelling of living writers. . . . [His] every book is like a dispatch from the deepest recesses of the national mind." New York Magazine "A richly terrifying historical novel. . . . [Roth is] the greatest fiction writer America has ever produced." Esquire "The writing is extraordinary, complex but highly readable, evocative, and colored with a tenderness and affection. . . . This is one of Roth's finest books." O (The Oprah Magazine) "Provocative. . . . At times, deeply affecting. . . . An intimate glimpse of one family's harrowing encounter with history." The New York Times "A harrowing novel of political psychology. . . . It may be the saddest book Roth has written and the most frightening." The Village Voice "An epic builtpainstakingly, passionately, nearly perfectlyof the small structures of the particular. . . . Roth is at the peak of, "A terrific political novel.... Sinister, vivid, dreamlike ... creepily plausible.... You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." -- The New York Times Book Review "Huge, inflammatory, painfully moving.... Far and away the most outward-looking, expansive ... book Roth has written." -- The Washington Post Book World "Roth's most powerfrul book to date. Confounding and illuminating, enraging and discomfiting, imaginative and utterly-terrifyingly-believable." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Once again, Philip Roth has published a novel that you must read- now .... A stunning work." -- The Christian Science Monitor "It's not a prophecy; it's a nightmare, and it becomes more nightmarish-and also funnier and more bizarre-as is goes along.... [A] sinuous and brilliant book, with its extreme sweetness, its black pain, and its low, ceaseless cackle." -- The New Yorker "Ambitious and chilling ... a breath-taking leap of imagination.... The writing is brilliant." -- USA Today "Intimately observed characters in situations fraught with society's deepest, most bitter tensions.... Too ingeniously excruciating to put down." -- Newsweek "Never has [Roth's voice] been more nuanced ... beautifully particularized.... [A] novelist who for 45 years has been continuously reinventing himself, never more notably than in The Plot Against America ." -- The Boston Globe "Ingenious ... Roth's gorgeous and forceful prose, which swirls and dances and rages . . . has never seemed more precise and lucid." -- Star-Telegram (Dallas/Fort Worth) "Raises the stakes as high as a patriotic novel can take them.... Effortlessly, it seems, Roth has led us to suspend disbelief; then he makes us believe; then he suspends this belief and finally removes it.... A fabulous yarn." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review "A remarkable act of historical imagination and one of [Roth's] most moving novels." -- People "Roth takes readers on a harrowing safari across interdimensional borders into a bizarre version of his hometown.... [His] delivery is so matter-of-fact, so documentary deadpan that when we're 10 pages into the book our own world starts to seem like a flimsy fantasy." -- Time "The most compelling of living writers.... [His] every book is like a dispatch from the deepest recesses of the national mind." -- New York Magazine "A richly terrifying historical novel.... [Roth is] the greatest fiction writer America has ever produced." -- Esquire "The writing is extraordinary, complex but highly readable, evocative, and colored with a tenderness and affection.... This is one of Roth's finest books." -- O (The Oprah Magazine)
Synopsis
In this alternate history, Pulitzer Prize winner Roth considers what it would be like for his Newark family--and for a million such families all over the country--during the menacing years of a Charles Lindbergh presidency, when American citizens who happened to be Jews would have every reason to expect the worst., Never more relevant than now, this national bestseller will challenge all who believe that "it can't happen here." "A terrific political novel . . . Sinister, vivid, dreamlike . . . creepily plausible. . . You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." -- The New York Times Book Review In an extraordinary feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the 1940 presidential election to heroic aviator and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh. Shortly thereafter, Lindbergh negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism. For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threaten to destroy his small, safe corner of America-and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother., In an astonishing feat of empathy and narrative invention, our most ambitious novelist imagines an alternate version of American history. In 1940 Charles A. Lindbergh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected President. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism. For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threaten to destroy his small, safe corner of America-and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother., NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The chilling bestselling alternate history novel of what happens to one family when America elects a charismatic, isolationist president whose government embraces anti-Semitism--from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Pastoral . "A terrific political novel.... Sinister, vivid, dreamlike...You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." -- The New York Times Book Review One of the New York Times 's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century In an extraordinary feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the 1940 presidential election to heroic aviator and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh. Shortly thereafter, Lindbergh negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism., NATIONAL BESTSELLER - The chilling bestselling alternate history novel of what happens to one family when America elects a charismatic, isolationist president whose government embraces anti-Semitism--from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Pastoral . "A terrific political novel.... Sinister, vivid, dreamlike...You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." -- The New York Times Book Review One of the New York Times 's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century In an extraordinary feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the 1940 presidential election to heroic aviator and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh. Shortly thereafter, Lindbergh negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism.
