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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic of American Humor,
By
This review is from: The Great American Novel (Paperback)
Philip Roth fans tend to divide into two categories. One group admires his more Henry James-like efforts: the Zuckerman books, "Deception," "Patrimony." And then there are those of us who like those books but also cherish every foul, hilarious, in-you-face word he's ever written, like in "Portnoy's Complaint," "My Life as a Man" and this wonderful mock history of baseball. (Although I can't say this enough: you don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy it.) This book, which is carefully ignored by the palefaces among Roth admirers, is his comic masterpiece. It is an encyclopedic satire of mid-20th century American life, with many pages that will have you falling out of your chair with laughter. It's a cult book, like "A Confederacy of Dunces" or Dan Jenkins' "Semi-Tough"; once you read it you will buy copies for your best friends.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3 out of 5, Still a Damn Fine Batting Average,
By
This review is from: The Great American Novel (Paperback)
Philip Roth's THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL is a big, bulbous, brocaded, bullshooting joke whether viewed from the box seats behind home plate or way in the back row of the right field bleachers-but let me not get pulled into the alliterative traps in which Roth indulges himself by way of his narrator, one Word Smith. Through the pen of the almost ninety-year-old "Smitty," we read the sad and disturbing tale of how the Ruppert Mundys of the mythical and defunct Patriot League were forced to spend all of 1943 playing away games after their owners sold their home stadium to the War Department as an embarkation point for our brave soldiers. Is Smitty as insane as many others obviously find him? Did the Mundys really have a one-legged catcher, a one-armed center fielder, a 14-year-old second baseman and a dwarf as a relief pitcher? Just who really is the Babylonian former ace pitcher Gil Gamesh? Was there really a Communist plot to destroy America by first destroying baseball?It is curiosity and determination to finish this too-long-by-a-third book that may keep you reading through to the end, I'm afraid I had to force myself through it. We certainly aren't supposed to like any of the characters, so that means the story better hold us. And while it's a great story with a good number of laughs, there are too many long-winded passages that just aren't as funny once you get the rhythm down-the satire is dulled by them, in fact. I submit that Roth knew this and simply didn't care: by 1973 when this book was published he had been a bestseller for over twenty years. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he had a Dickensian paid-by-the-word contract for this book. Additionally, there are the letters to Smitty in the Epilogue from publishers rejecting his manuscript of the Patriot League story, one of which says, "by and large the book seemed . . . to strain for its effects and to simplify for the sake of facile satiric comment the complex realities of American political and cultural life." Now while the complex realities of American political and cultural life can never be underestimated, Roth clearly knew the monster he created. And what fun for him to slap the Great American Novel title on it all! I really enjoyed the first couple of hundred pages of this book, and I recommend it to those who are also students of baseball history (Roth weaves many real names and situations and speeches of old into his text) and aficionados of Roth. This is only my third Roth book, his earlier works PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT is one of my favorites of all time and GOODBYE, COLUMBUS is an entertaining first novel. I'm sorry I couldn't stay as excited about this one as it lumbered on, even if that was the point. Terrific concept, though.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Perfect, Perfect Game, Smitty?,
By
This review is from: The Great American Novel (Paperback)
Smitty can talk. He's Master of Words, Master of Baseball History and Master of knowledge of the Patriot League. Ever heard of the Patriot League? I didn't think so. The Great American Novel will provide you with the history lesson your grandfather never told you about.Previous reviews I read compared the book to Confederacy of Dunces. Both are excellent reads. Yes, it's nutty like Dunces, but if you are not a true lover of baseball, you may not like this book. It's all baseball (statistics, long explanations about players and their positions, and history). Every baseball season I read a "baseball book" and this was my choice for 2006, although I bought the book more than 6 years ago (it sat on my shelf waiting for its day). Some may find the book verbose and slow moving at times, but the overall style is quite unique and the story is hilarious. I laughed out-loud at least a dozen times. I highly recommend this to baseball fans who aren't looking for Grisham-level writing. Roth shines with the TGAN. Don't wait 6 years like I did. Buy it now and read it.
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