I bought this book at one of my favorite bookstores – Barbara’s Books in Hawley, PA. I admit that at the time, I bought it because it was one of those books I thought I should be reading, one that would make me look good even if I took it with me to the library to read while my kids scoured the shelves. So, for the very same reason, it took me over a year to take the leap and start reading it. It may have been the blurb on the back from the Chicago Tribune, “In American literature today, there’s Philip Roth, and then there’s everybody else.” Gee, I sort of like “everybody else”…
Once I started reading, I regretted taking so long to begin. This was not a book to be carried around, reading a page here and there. After finishing the Stieg Larsson series, I thought I was over the late night reading in my comfortable chair for a while. But, after several sleepless nights, I realized this was every bit as engrossing, albeit without the graphic violence, and only a fraction of the sex.
I feel like I may be preaching to the converted on this, as we are by now many books into Roth’s contribution to literature. When I began this book I was reminded of my first experience reading John Cheever, after which I went and read every other book he wrote. According to Roth, this book forms a loose trilogy with his other books, American Pastoral and I Married a Communist.
The story begins near the end of Coleman Silk’s life, narrated by his new friend and longtime neighbor, the author Nathan Zuckerman. Silk, in his 70s, does not walk quietly into Zuckerman’s life; he appears immediately following his wife’s funeral, demanding that the writer (who he barely knew up to that point) chronicle the story of what he describes as her murder. In fact, Coleman Silk has just resigned his post at the university where he taught for many years. When, by all accounts, he should have left with a building named after him, Silk has left in disgrace, following a petty misunderstanding. Silk, who has been raised to be precise in his language, used the word “spooks” to describe two mysterious students who had yet to show up for one of his lectures. Even in 1998, when the book takes place, the primary definition of spooks is “a ghost”. This does not deter the absent (African American) students from pursuing a case of racial bias against the professor they have never met.
As the story progresses, you wonder whether this can really be all there is – a career and a life ruined over semantics. Colleagues turn against him, and his wife dies of a stroke he believes was caused by the stress of the events. When Zuckerman refuses to write the book, Silk decides to do it himself, wasting two years of his life in his raging effort. Of course, Nathan Zuckerman does write the story of Silk’s life (he’s narrating it), but it is not the one we were expecting. Once the rage subsides, Silk begins a scandalous affair with a woman half his age, whose own life has its share of sorrow and disgrace. But Coleman Silk, renowned Jewish Classics Professor, has a secret even he cannot tell. Coleman, a child of East Orange, NJ, has spent the better part of his life “passing” as white. The first Black valedictorian of East Orange High renounced his loving tight-knit family to live what he thought would be a better life.
The story is told from many points of view, owing to the fact that Zuckerman discovers the secret after Silk dies, but the different viewpoints make for interesting perspective on the various events of his life. When I learned of his secret, I was reminded of another book on my shelf about the literary critic Anatole Boyard, whose true story of “passing” was written by his daughter in One Drop, My father’s Hidden Life. Some think that Roth was inspired by this story, but he claims it was a college girlfriend’s family that introduced him to the concept of relatives passing and being “lost to all their people”. I was not prepared for the deep sadness I felt for Coleman Silk’s family, especially his mother. After all, this is not the story of a scrappy kid from the projects – this was a kid raised with the highest expectations in a middle class neighborhood. He was not taking a stand for civil rights; he just wanted the best for himself. The irony of his fall would have been no consolation to his loyal mother who let him go.
There were some lighter moments in the book, contrary to the topic. It’s the middle of the Monica Lewinsky affair, and this provides some hilarious moments that do nothing to move the plot, but are priceless nonetheless. I had the sense that Roth was just dying to expound on his thoughts on the subject. Apparently Roth is not revered for his depictions of women. There is some offensive language (ok, about Monica Lewinsky), but overall I felt the women were portrayed sympathetically. I definitely recommend this book – and would love a recommendation if you’ve read any of his others.
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