Letting Go (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Philip Roth
- First Published: 1962
- Type of Plot: Satiric realism
- Time of Work: The 1950’s
- Setting: Chicago, New York, Iowa, and Pennsylvania
- Principal Characters: Gabriel (Gabe) Wallach, Paul Herz, Martha Reganhart, Libby Herz
- Genres: Long fiction, Realism, Satire
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, New York City, Midwest, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Adoption or adopted children, Abortion, Intermarriage, Colleges or universities
- Locales: New York, Chicago, IL, Pennsylvania, Iowa
The Novel
Letting Go is a book about literature, filled with literary references. The characters in the novel partially define themselves by the books that they have read. The novel focuses on the young academic crowd of the decade of the 1950’s—particularly on three characters: Gabe Wallach, a young instructor in the humanities, and his friends Paul and Libby Herz.
Apparently, Philip Roth intended Gabe to be a Jamesian hero: the man with an independent income, living a good life, with a career that he cares about, but always wrestling with a vague guilt. The...
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See Also:
Philip Roth (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Philip Roth (Short Fiction)Philip Roth (Long Fiction)Philip Roth (Identities and Issues)Philip Roth (Sixties in America)
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