Mazel tov! The whole shtetl buzzed with the news. Chanka, the butcherâs daughter, was engaged to Yankel, the carpenterâs son. It was a local match, so the whole town got involved in the wedding preparations. A week before the wedding, Chanka could be found sewing the last few stitches on he…
Blake Bailey s terrific Philip Roth biography digs up the true stories behind his novels
5/5
3 April 2021 • 3:00pm
Philip Roth: When I let the repellent in, I found that I was alive
Credit: ELLINGVAG/ORJAN/Corbis
Many of the stories in Blake Bailey’s terrific new biography of Philip Roth will seem familiar to fans – we heard them first in his novels. “Yes, I know there’s a difference between characters and authors,” Irving Howe, his one-time champion and eventual critic, wrote. “But I also know that grown-ups should not pretend that it’s quite the difference they tell their students it is.”
Book Review: Philip Roth, by Blake Bailey - The New York Times nytimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nytimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.