The Plot Against America (edit title)

• Rated 5 stars

“The Plot Against America made me an Philip Roth fan. My only exposure to his body of work is Portnoy's Complaint, a book of which I am not overly fond, and there are one or two moments here that harken back to my initial dislike of his writing, but they stand out so fully because the rest of this novel is such a masterwork. Mr. Roth presents his reader with the slow, inevitable decline of our country as held in thrall by an isolationist Charles Lindbergh, who comes clothed in a robe of anti-Semitism, and the escalation of WWII in a world where America stands even farther back from Europe pre-Pearl Harbor so fully, with a well-calculated growing dread, that history becomes even more clearly the outcome of chance circumstances and decisions.”

• Rated 5 stars

“This is only my second Roth novel and I have to say, I think I'm a fan. This book was so interesting to me, the whole idea of alternate history was something I hadn't explored in book form before. The writing style is unique and the story captivating. The ending was a bit abrupt for me, but other than that I would highly reccomend it.”

• Rated 3 stars

“The plot against America that Roth writes about was an interesting and believable alternative history. One could see how plausible such a different turn could be. The historical characters were fairly true to likeness, according to the after-word, so that part was informative. I was not fond of Roth's wordy style, however, as he included so many parenthetical elements in his sentences that I had to re-read them to find the main subject and verb.”

• Rated 3 stars

“As soon as you find out that the main character in this book is Philip Roth, a boy growing up in the same place and the same time as the author Roth, this book takes on the feel of a memoir. Essentially, this book is not about the alternative world Roth has created by changing one election, but about how the Roth family lives and survives in this world. Much of it is seen through the eyes of 9 year old Philip, but as he would explain it years later, as an adult. The language and analysis of events is not that of a child’s.

The alternative history holds up pretty well, until the "bad days" begin. At that point in the book, the narrative starts to fall apart as you get a straight summary of events of the next 10 days. Is this by design? I’m not sure. I felt like it interrupted the flow of the story. I also felt like Roth cops out a bit at the end… I was expecting a story where Hitler wins and the world is forever changed. What you get instead is just a blip in the WWII timeline… a delay of the events that really happened.

Overall, it was a good read and I’m glad I read it, despite the concentration it took to get through some of Roth’s run-on sentences. Would I read another by him? Based on the writing style alone, no, but if the story interested me I’d pick it up regardless.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Well told story, retelling history with an irony of today”

• Rated 0 stars

“I found this book fascinating, and reading the notes at the back was the most interesting thing of all. Everything in the book is factual except that Lindberg didn't win over Roosevelt in 1940, but most every bit of it hs happened more than once since that election. If you're at all interested in politics, this is the book for you.”

• Rated 0 stars

“This was the first Philip Roth book that I read. I had been hearing about his books for years. It was a podcast interview with Philip Roth that made me get this book. It was very compelling and since then I have read many more of his books. Now I will start to catch up with the early Roth books that I never read a long time ago.”

• Rated 4 stars

“I liked the premise but I feel Philip Roth sort of gave up at the end and got bored with it. Not Roth's best book but certainly gets you thinking.”

• Rated 1 stars

“Slow!!!! I truly enjoyed the plot and the concept of alternative history. I found the writing to be too ponderous, however.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Reading this Philip Roth novel during the height of the frenzy surrounding the US primaries, I was struck even more by the passions that permeate the electoral process, as well as America's strong sense of democracy and patriotism. Nowadays we vilify the US as a global bully (thanks to Dubya), but The Plot Against America takes a unique look into the heart and soul of American politics, not within the walls of the White House or up on Capitol Hill, but in the Jewish neighborhoods of New Jersey. This is a fictional autobiographical account of a nine-year-old Roth in 1940's America under the administration of an anti-Semitic Charles Lindbergh (yes, President Lindbergh). Set against the tumult and tension of World War II, Roth's Jewish family goes through years of anxiety, sorrow and fear as life in the land of the free becomes dangerous for Jews, and the horrors of the Holocaust happening a continent away seem to be forming in the home of the brave. Yet the Roths refuse to leave the country they love and call their own, demonstrating a fierce steadfastness to principles and ideals that America is supposed to stand for.

The details are so vivid, the narrative so natural and straightforward, the emotions so real that it's easy to forget it's all a stretch of the author's imagination. And perhaps that is what adds to the power of this novel: the idea that it's all so frighteningly plausible. It's a chilling thought, and Roth expertly delivers it through this compelling alternate reality. By telling the story of one family, he reminds us that America is not so much about the guys in Washington DC running the show, but about the people who comprise America, no matter what ethnicity or social class. Somehow Roth manages to depict America as both evil and good, and the contrast makes for an all the more interesting read, especially in light of the ongoing war in Iraq and other hot topics of the day. I enjoyed this as much as (if not more than) I did Roth's American Pastoral, and based on those 2 novels alone I can tell this is one author who truly loves his country, sins of the past and present notwithstanding.”