Critique cocasse d'une pseudo-élite américaine.
A tribute to railway station literature
Portnoy et son complexe«, the 1969 novel that earned American author Philip Roth his sulphurous reputation, is a must-read. The author had already published a collection of short stories ten years earlier, »Goodbye, Columbus«, which was not a success. Nevertheless, Roth's obsessive themes were already present, starting of course with Jewishness. Like all geniuses, Roth is obsessive. Imagine a Tarantino who wasn't obsessive, or a Proust, a Polnareff, a Flaubert or a Kubrick. And there's one obsession that runs through the whole of »Portnoy and His Complex«: sex.
Dying stupidly from a bayonet wound because you refuse to submit to any moral order. To end up shredded on the battlefield like a piece of meat because you refused the inculcation of any tradition. Is it worth it? The question echoes the term «indignation» - the feeling of anger that arises from an action that offends the moral conscience, the sense of justice - the title of the late Philip Roth's novel.
In this all-encompassing novel, Philip Roth dissects the American dream through the life of Seymour Levov, a model of integration and success, whom history will ultimately crush. A masterpiece that reveals the fragility and mystery of every destiny.
Philip Roth's dystopia depicts life in an America that has become anti-Semitic. The modified story shatters our certainties and rekindles a fear that had previously lain dormant within us.
Le Regard Libre N° 27 - Léa Farine « Le plus souvent, rien de particulier ne me tracasse, du moins...
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