Book description
Appointed by Philip Roth and granted independence and complete access, Blake Bailey spent years poring over Roth's personal archive, interviewing his friends, lovers and colleagues, and engaging Roth himself in breathtakingly candid conversations. The result is an indelible portrait of an American master and of the postwar literary scene.
Bailey…
Why read it?
1 author picked Philip Roth as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This lengthy (807 pages, plus acknowledgements, notes, and an index) biography of the esteemed late American author Philip Roth is fascinating, perceptive, and illuminating.
As one who has read all of Roth’s books, I enjoyed learning about his writing method, along with who and what influenced him. Blake Bailey, the author of this deeply insightful and brutally frank biography, makes it clear, that, despite Philip Roth’s lifetime of denial, he was, more often than not, the main character in each of his works of fiction.
As I read Philip Roth, the Biography, I connected to the great novelist in…
If you love Philip Roth...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like Philip Roth?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Philip Roth.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,340
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like Philip Roth, you might also like...
Foxfire in the Snow
It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
The Main Gate
Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.
Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…
