American Pastoral

American Pastoral is a 1997 Philip Roth novel concerning Seymour "Swede" Levov, an all-around good guy whose life is ruined by the "indigenous American berzerk".

Related Topics:
1997 - Philip Roth

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The framing device employed in American Pastoral is a 45th high school reunion attended by frequent Roth alter-ego Nathan Zuckerman. There he meets former-classmate Jerry Levov ("Swede" Levov's younger brother) who describes to him the tragic course of Seymour's adult life. The rest of the story consists of Zuckerman's posthumous recreation of Seymour Levov's story, based upon Jerry's testimony, a few newspaper clippings, and Zuckerman's own impressions after two brief run-ins with "the Swede" towards the end of his life. Note that in the first of these run-ins (at a 1985 baseball game), Seymour is with his young adolescent son, strongly implying he divorced his first wife and started a new family.

Related Topics:
Nathan Zuckerman - 1985 - Baseball

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