American Pastoral (Magill Book Reviews)

At a glance:

The antithesis of the Jewish antiheroes, anguished, self-conscious schlemiels who dominate most of Philip Roth’s other works, Seymour Levov is known to all as “the Swede,” on account of his rugged, handsome, unSemitic mien. He becomes a star in three sports, a Marine Corps drill instructor, and a prosperous manufacturer of ladies’ gloves. The grandson of a struggling Jewish immigrant, he appears to have assimilated seamlessly into mainstream society and to have fulfilled the elusive promise of “the American Dream.” Married to a Catholic beauty queen, the Swede inhabits a...

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