[A] fresh account of the literary legacy of the award-winning and controversial author.... Intriguing new perspectives on a contentious writer.

Despite long-standing attention paid Roth by literary critics, theorists, and commentators, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know is a startlingly refreshing and astoundingly comprehensive intervention in the field known as Roth studies. Berlinerblau asks that we take the long view, one that is rich in nuance, vigorous in its attention to broader trends and experiences, and one that doesn’t shy away from asking difficult, challenging, and even painful questions.

Provocative and original, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know interrogates the life and works of Roth in light of the #MeToo movement and, in so doing, provides a contemporary context for discussing Roth during these changing times.

Berlinerblau’s method of reverse biography is fascinating.

The Philip Roth We Don’t Know is not so much reverse biography as a forward-looking argument. It affirms the enduring value of an astonishingly inventive author even Gen Z can know and admire.

Berlinerblau, of Georgetown University, Washington, who has published papers on Roth and lectured on his work for three decades, said: 'The thing I learnt about Roth in looking through this material is how much time he spent networking, scratching people’s backs, placing his people in positions, voting for them.'... Ultimately, Berlinerblau said, it is all the more surprising because Roth was such 'a magnificent writer.'

There is a definite need for a book that grapples with Roth’s reputation in the #MeToo era. A literary figure of towering repute and prodigious output, Roth wrote books that constantly portrayed toxic masculinity, the male gaze, date rape, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.... [T]here is a ready market for a book pondering why he still matters.

[A] thought­ful, time­ly explo­ration by Jacques Berlinerblau. In The Philip Roth We Don’t Know, he attempts to X‑ray Roth’s fic­tion while assess­ing his lega­cy. Will Roth’s rep­u­ta­tion sur­vive #MeToo? Should it? To answer, Berliner­bau reads Roth foren­si­cal­ly. His project is sim­ple yet ambitious: read­ing Roth rig­or­ous­ly and map­ping his obsessions.

Berlinerblau introduces readers to an intriguing theme: what happens to a writer’s legacy when his output runs headlong into a worldwide social movement? Part of what makes this book exciting for readers, no matter where one sits on the Philip Roth fan/critic spectrum, is that it addresses a question that has yet to be answered.

[A] fresh account of the literary legacy of the award-winning and controversial author.... Intriguing new perspectives on a contentious writer.

Berlinerblau’s method of reverse biography is fascinating.

The Philip Roth We Don’t Know is not so much reverse biography as a forward-looking argument. It affirms the enduring value of an astonishingly inventive author even Gen Z can know and admire.

Berlinerblau, of Georgetown University, Washington, who has published papers on Roth and lectured on his work for three decades, said: 'The thing I learnt about Roth in looking through this material is how much time he spent networking, scratching people’s backs, placing his people in positions, voting for them.'... Ultimately, Berlinerblau said, it is all the more surprising because Roth was such 'a magnificent writer.'

There is a definite need for a book that grapples with Roth’s reputation in the #MeToo era. A literary figure of towering repute and prodigious output, Roth wrote books that constantly portrayed toxic masculinity, the male gaze, date rape, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.... [T]here is a ready market for a book pondering why he still matters.

[A] thought­ful, time­ly explo­ration by Jacques Berlinerblau. In The Philip Roth We Don’t Know, he attempts to X‑ray Roth’s fic­tion while assess­ing his lega­cy. Will Roth’s rep­u­ta­tion sur­vive #MeToo? Should it? To answer, Berliner­bau reads Roth foren­si­cal­ly. His project is sim­ple yet ambitious: read­ing Roth rig­or­ous­ly and map­ping his obsessions.

Berlinerblau introduces readers to an intriguing theme: what happens to a writer’s legacy when his output runs headlong into a worldwide social movement? Part of what makes this book exciting for readers, no matter where one sits on the Philip Roth fan/critic spectrum, is that it addresses a question that has yet to be answered.