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Liked It4 of 4 members found this review helpful “It’s alternately shrill, messy, off-putting, riveting, wise, bitter, and you should read it. |
Didn’t Like It “The portrait of a Vietnam veteran in this book is so dreadful it almost defies belief. In fact, everything about this book is dreadful, other than Roth's eloquence; but even that is dreadful whenever he attempts to say something intelligent, or go beyond telling you something you didn't already...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“excellent story of human vulnerability, the protagonist is a college professor, complex moral and social issues identity, passing, characters are portrayed compared to Greek tragedy.”
EILEEN M wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“The portrait of a Vietnam veteran in this book is so dreadful it almost defies belief. In fact, everything about this book is dreadful, other than Roth's eloquence; but even that is dreadful whenever he attempts to say something intelligent, or go beyond telling you something you didn't already know. That we consider Roth a classic is an indication of how desperate we are nowadays for anything resembling literature.”
Ry R wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Very good read. Gritty characters with extremely sad stories, especially the main character. Heard Nicole Kidman is playing the female lead in the movie version. Totally cannot see that.”
Sue R wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Loved this book. ”
Alice F wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Just short of amazing...very, very good”
David S wrote this review Thursday, November 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“"Portnoy's Complaint" was the first Philip Roth book I picked up and it was the hilarity and dark comedy of that book which brought me to pick up another- this time "The Human Stain". I marvel at how different the two books are. Portnoy's Complaint focused solely on the psychoses of one man. While among many other virtues "The Human Stain" encompasses deep and believable character development of numerous and exceptionally varied characters. I love both books I've read by Roth so far and marvel at how different they are.”
Alex D wrote this review Tuesday, November 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Started reading this book over a year ago and still haven't finished it. I find Roth's work difficult to read in spite of a story I want to read.
Chip E wrote this review Tuesday, October 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Maybe the movie will be better -- and inspire me to finish the book.”4 of 4 members found this review helpful“It’s alternately shrill, messy, off-putting, riveting, wise, bitter, and you should read it.
Lord Manleigh wrote this review Wednesday, September 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
While its predecessor I Married a Communist focuses on the carnage of the McCarthy era, this final installment in Roth’s “American Trilogy” engages with the modern version of the American witch hunt, the nasty brew you get when you stir in the methodical intellectual oppression that is “political correctness”, the insatiable human lust for gossip and the pleasures gleaned from that brand of Puritanical sanctimony that is a permanent strand of the American national DNA -- a brew that reached full boil with the Clinton impeachment, and which acts as the backdrop for The Human Stain.
The only quibble I had with the book was that the action in the background struck me as so much more interesting than what was happening downstage center. There is so much of interest going on, there are so many vivid, unforgettable characters, there are so many provocative directions Roth could have taken, that I simply wished he’d taken a left turn at the post office instead of the right. The central story-line – the doomed relationship between Coleman and Faunia that forms the spine of the novel – struck me as far less compelling than the background story of Coleman’s ruin at the hands of an insecure feminist minister of political correctness, or the background story of the crucial secret at the heart of Coleman’s identity, or the background story of Faunia’s nut-case Vietnam Vet ex-husband. The novel overflows with enough story-lines and ideas for at least three other novels – I felt as if Roth simply took on too much for one book to do it all full justice.
Don’t let this stop you from reading it. If I hadn’t read American Pastoral first, I would probably be over the moon about The Human Stain. The man is, without question, one of the great American writers, and the book is chock-full of those moments so familiar to Roth’s readers when you simply shake your head with joy and wonder at the man’s talent – his breathless, relentless audacity and brilliance.
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“http://thebookwormslibrary.com/?p=205”
Lisa A wrote this review Friday, September 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
