The Counterlife
Encyclopedia
The Counterlife is a novel by the American author Philip Roth
. It is the fourth full novel to feature the fictional novelist Nathan Zuckerman
. When The Counterlife was published, Zuckerman had most recently appeared in a novella called The Prague Orgy
, the epilogue to the omnibus volume Zuckerman Bound
. It is reported that French director Arnaud Desplechin
is working on a screen adaptation of the novel.
Henry has been diagnosed with advanced obstructive arterial disease. His medical prognosis leaves him with two options. He can either go on medication that will halt the progress of the blockage and save his life but leave him sexually impotent or he can opt for radical bypass surgery in a bid to preserve sexual function. His doctors urge Henry to accept the medication and to try to face life without sex. His decision is complicated by the prospect of ending an extramarital affair with an assistant named Wendy.
Though the Zuckerman brothers have been feuding in the years since their parents died, Henry seeks reconciliation with Nathan and asks his advice.
On one level, this can be read as a comment on the craft of writing. It reflects the way in which the author has many germs of ideas, not all of which reach the complete fruition of becoming a coherent work of fiction.
At a deeper level, it reflects the fragmentation of human lives. To an extent, all of us live counterlives, as we do things that do not fit in with the 'official story' of the kind of person we are, and the kind of life we are living.
.
Philip Roth
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
. It is the fourth full novel to feature the fictional novelist Nathan Zuckerman
Nathan Zuckerman
Nathan Zuckerman is a fictional character who appears as the narrator or protagonist of many of Philip Roth's works of fiction.-Character:...
. When The Counterlife was published, Zuckerman had most recently appeared in a novella called The Prague Orgy
The Prague Orgy
The Prague Orgy is a novella by Philip Roth. The short book is the epilogue to his trilogy Zuckerman Bound. The story follows Roth's alter ego Nathan Zuckerman, on a journey to Communist Prague in the 1970s seeking the unpublished manuscript of a martyred Yiddish writer...
, the epilogue to the omnibus volume Zuckerman Bound
Zuckerman Bound
Zuckerman Bound is a trilogy of novels by Philip Roth, originally published in 1985.-Plot:Each of the books follows the struggles and writing career of Roth's novelist alter ego Nathan Zuckerman.-Contents:The bound trilogy consists of:...
. It is reported that French director Arnaud Desplechin
Arnaud Desplechin
Arnaud Desplechin is a French film director.-Biography:Arnaud Desplechin is the son of Robert and Mado Desplechin, and grew up in the Nord department...
is working on a screen adaptation of the novel.
Plot summary
The novel opens with what appears to be an entry in Zuckerman's journal about his younger brother Henry. Henry is a forty year old dentist with a wife and kids. He has opted for the safety of a traditional profession and family life in contrast to Nathan, the famous writer with whom Henry clashes throughout the Zuckerman novels.Henry has been diagnosed with advanced obstructive arterial disease. His medical prognosis leaves him with two options. He can either go on medication that will halt the progress of the blockage and save his life but leave him sexually impotent or he can opt for radical bypass surgery in a bid to preserve sexual function. His doctors urge Henry to accept the medication and to try to face life without sex. His decision is complicated by the prospect of ending an extramarital affair with an assistant named Wendy.
Though the Zuckerman brothers have been feuding in the years since their parents died, Henry seeks reconciliation with Nathan and asks his advice.
Style
The five sections of the novel each contradict each other to some extent, so certain events that have taken place in one section are presupposed not to have taken place in subsequent sections.On one level, this can be read as a comment on the craft of writing. It reflects the way in which the author has many germs of ideas, not all of which reach the complete fruition of becoming a coherent work of fiction.
At a deeper level, it reflects the fragmentation of human lives. To an extent, all of us live counterlives, as we do things that do not fit in with the 'official story' of the kind of person we are, and the kind of life we are living.
Other editions
This book is included in the fifth volume of Philip Roth's collected works Novels and Other Narratives 1986–1991, published by the Library of AmericaLibrary of America
The Library of America is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature.- Overview and history :Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LoA has published over 200 volumes by a wide range of authors from Mark Twain to Philip...
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