Last year, we revisited Philip Roth’s 1967 When She Was Good and his 1974 My Life As A Man. We’re up to the ‘80s now with The Facts, a tell-all by Newark’s favorite son that certainly brings back memories from this reporter of my shared experiences with this author, that of going down the shore to Bradley Beach, attending Weequahic High School and participating in left-of-center politics. We walked the same streets, went to the same temple, and graduated from the same high school. He did it when Newark was mostly Jewish. I did it when Newark was mostly Black.

When last we visited the work of Newark’s greatest writer, and, some would say, America’s greatest writer, Philip Roth, was within the pages of his 1966 When She Was Good (see Jersey Bookshelf 2/25/25). Eight years later, in 1974, out came My Life As A Man, and it caused some semblance of controversy as his protagonist, Peter Tarnapol, was a thinly-veiled version of himself.

Newark’s Literary Lion Philip Roth could have an acerbic and biting sense of humor. Not one character in this funny, heartbreaking family drama is likeable. They’re all trying to live life within their own means and moral compass but the book’s greatness lies in their tragic flaws.

When author Philip Roth, 85, died on May 22, 2018, it hit me hard. Through the years, his books never failed to fascinate. His personal life notwithstanding, his artistic growth was profound. I greedily gobbled up American Pastoral (1997), I Married A Communist (1998), The Human Stain (2000) and The Plot Against America (2004). Among his 29 other books, there was one I purposely refrained from reading. Until now.