Customer Reviews

Indignation

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Butchery and blood are recurring images in Philip Roth's scalding new novel which is probably his darkest comedy since Sabbath's Theater. The images are shocking yet appropriate since this little novel deals with a big subject: what someone once called "the meat-grinder of history." Many of Roth's familiar elements are here. The naive young Jewish hero meets up with an unstable gentile girl in the 1950's and farce ensues. But this is 1951 and the Korean War hovers over the story like a thundercloud. I wasn't very enthusiastic about Roth's last couple of novels which seemed rather flaccid to me. But this one has suspense, narrative drive and storytelling fury that recall his great "American" novels of 10 years ago, only in concentrated form. "Indignation" left me wrung out, like you hope a novel will do for you.

Marcus Messner announces on page 54 that he is dead (this is no great spoiler, believe me.) The dead narrator is a time-honored narrative strategy in film noir (see Sunset Boulevard (Special Collector's Edition) and the novels of Jim Thompson, especially Savage Night) and it's interesting to see how Roth uses it. Although there may be an alternative explanation for Marcus' state; check the chapter titles. As he tells his story we learn how he came to die. Practically driven out of his home by his loving but suddenly paranoid kosher butcher father, he flees to go to college in the same town as Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio (Signet Classics). The smart but inexperienced boy finds himself way over his head. He is flummoxed by a beautiful girl he dates and is unable to tolerate either a flamboyant gay roommate or the strictly conservative college administration with its Christian affiliation. Instead of laughing it off and making the best of it, as apparently Roth in real life was able to at Bucknell, Marcus goes to war with his surroundings. His private mantra becomes the Chinese national anthem he learned in grade school with its refrain "indignation, arise!" And in a hideous irony it is the Chinese army that butchers Marcus on a hill in Korea some months later.

This is a remarkable book: a terrible tragedy with farce, a funny book where the laughs catch in your throat. It once again displays Roth's famous psychological toughness; no one is let off the hook here. And Roth plays fair; although he displays what is coming to be his obvious disdain for religion of all kinds, he shows Marcus playing a role in his own destruction through the kid's own intolerance and pride. Although the president of the college is a Republican political hack (as Roth sees it), the author lets him deliver the theme of the novel in a thunderous speech near the end of the book: you may try to hide from history: but like Jonah inside the whale, it will find you.

Unlike some Roth books, in which he seems to be outrageous for the sole purpose of provoking the reader, this book can stand with his best work. It sits aside The Human Stain as a personal favorite of mine. He seemlessly weaves the the story of the main character into the historical backdrop of the Korean War, working in the timeless themes of parent-child relationships, love, and the human desire to make sense of the chaos around them. It served as an inspiration for my book, Life and Life Only. Roth seems in a hurry to write as much as he can while he can, yet the writings of his recent years are carefully crafted and a joy to read.

Do we each have a turning point or series of turning points in our lives that lead us to our fate? Or do we simply have things happen to us, in combination with our childhoods, our makeup, our genetics and the world events which catch us up, which in all their minutiae add up to "fate?" This is a small perfect book about which one should say nothing so that its progression and its surprises are not telegraphed in advance!

I recently picked up this little book--my first exposure to Philip Roth--and was completely blown away. Someone described Roth as writing "perfect novels," and I think that this might just have been perfect. Short, concise, yet rich and descriptive. When you read this book, you are carried away into a different time, when things were simpler, yet so much more complex. You connect with the narrator because we've all been where he is--or at least, we've all experienced similar things--horrible roommates, rocky relationships with parents and authority figures, first love, first break-ups, and crazy adolescents.

The ending caught me by surprise--and the sheer irony of it all reminded me of life itself--no matter what happens, or what we do, life just marches on... Sometimes in the way we least expect it.

Great book, would certainly recommend.

One of the best of 2008 for sure. Philip Roth provides the reader with an example of how to write a novel with perfect economy so rarely seen in modern overblown fiction- no matter how entertaining. In this little book are all the essentials: history past and present in vivid color, characters one can see inside and out, psychology of choice, life's vicissitudes, humor, pathos, reflection. Nothing is unnecessary here- all moves with perfect and interesting cadence. One is rooting for these people, while fearing the glint of the knife and the red of blood which surely will follow. Perfect.

For those of us from the Silent Generation (1926-1945), this brief book will force us to remember our youth and that it was not the best of times. Phillip Roth has become our historian, especially with The Human Stain and The Dying Animal. There we are repressed and angry with an America that continues to have that dark underside that is desperately afraid that someone, somewhere may be happy and is determined to prevent it. He takes us back to college in the 1950's with panty raids and Korea and mindless college administrators who wanted to make certain we were all safe for society. This is not best work but it's Roth and he is always a joy to read.

I think this book will be read for decades, maybe longer. It's succinct and fiercely written.

The centerpiece clash between Marcus Messner and Dean Caudwell is a brilliant verbal boxing match that speaks to assimilation, organization, power, faith, ignorance and, yes, indignation. There's nothing extraneous here. The writing is taut and boiled-down to its essence. "Indignation" made me think about people's attitudes towards their own self-worth and how much a role that plays in their character - from would-be girlfriend Olivia to Messner's mother, from the dean to Sonny Colter.

This book is about entitlement in a very powerful way. It's about oppression by organization, whether it's frat boys or the college superstructure itself. It's about the people in the trenches (not giving anything away) doing the messy work of life. It's about societal norms and niceties--and everything, in the end, that's not so nice. Brilliantly conceived, well executed and power in every page. For the return on investment (in other words, this won't take you long to read) this is one of the best.

Have you ever felt so angry at someone or something that this anger consumed your every thought and action? Philip Roth has once more created a believable and memorable character here. Poor Marcus Messner, a victim of indignation. But who is the enemy here? Is it his parents, the college administrators, his roommates, or his girlfriend? Should you feel sorry for Marcus for the fear and pressures put upon him by authority figures, politics, the Korean war, religion, and sex? Would you react the same way if you were Marcus? A quick and worthwhile read, with much to reflect upon especially if you, like me, pictured yourself in similar situations.

I have always enjoyed Philip Roth's work and this was no exception. The plot was interesting and characters vivid. The tale of a Jewish boy, who is the first generation to attend the school is universal in many ways. The inability to fit in, the cultural issues and the non functional family are something most of us can relate to. The reason I gave this book three stars is because I felt that there was something missing. It was almost like in the last part of the book, author got bored of the book and just wanted to end it. The end was abrupt and almost incomplete. However, maybe that is the moral of the book - the end is abrupt and there is no real plan in life.

I must start by disclosing this is my first Roth novel. Other than seeing the high praise and awards for his earlier works I went into this book without any preconceived notions about the author. I kind of liked this book and it was an easy read but I got the book from the library and didn't have to pay to read it. Had I paid the $25 cover for this slight(230 pages and a small size page)book I would feel cheated. Compared to other things I've read recently, Justin Cronin's "Henry and June" and "The Summer Guest" or Pete Dexter's "Spooner" the characters were much more one dimensional and so way less interesting or sympathetic. I was somewhat suprised that a pulitizer prize writer's prose would not be more captivating. Although I was at times able to identify with the lead character by remembering myself at that age, overall I could not really recommend this book. To use a video analogy it was more like a TV movie than a real motion picture. I'm glad it was short- it felt good to be done with and move on to something that will be, hopefully, more satisfying.