The Ghost Writer
Encyclopedia
The Ghost Writer is the first novel
by Philip Roth
to be narrated by Nathan Zuckerman
, one of Roth's alter ego
s, and constitutes the first book in his Zuckerman Bound
trilogy. The novel touches on themes common to many Roth works, including identity, the responsibilities of authors to their subjects, and the condition of Jews in America. Parts of the novel are a reprise
of Anne Frank's Diary.
or Henry Roth
). Also staying in the Lonoff home is Amy Bellette, a young woman with a vague past whom the narrator suggests might be Anne Frank
who has survived the Holocaust and is living in the United States
anonymously. It only becomes apparent at the end of this section that it is a fiction imagined by Zuckerman. He later confronts Amy, telling her that she looks like Anne Frank
, but she fails to react in the way his fiction has encouraged him to hope.
adaptation was made of the book in the UK
. It was directed by Tristram Powell
and starred Rose Arrick, Claire Bloom
, Sam Wanamaker
, Cecile Mann, MacIntyre Dixon, Mark Linn-Baker
, Ralph Morse, Joseph Wiseman
, and Patricia Fellows.
, John Updike
described Roth as "Always one of the most intelligent and energetic of American writers, he has now become one of the most scrupulous." In The New York Times Book Review
, critic Harold Bloom said of the three collected Zuckerman novels, "'Zuckerman Bound' merits something reasonably close to the highest level of esthetic praise for tragicomedy."
The Executioner's Song
instead.
Exit Ghost
In 2007, Roth published the novel Exit Ghost
, which Michiko Kakutani
in The New York Times
called "elegiac" and "a kind of valedictory bookend to 'The Ghost Writer.'"
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Philip Roth
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...
to be narrated by 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:...
, one of Roth's alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
s, and constitutes the first book in his 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:...
trilogy. The novel touches on themes common to many Roth works, including identity, the responsibilities of authors to their subjects, and the condition of Jews in America. Parts of the novel are a reprise
Reprise
Reprise is a fundamental device in the history of art. In literature, a reprise consists of the rewriting of another work; in music, a reprise is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the...
of Anne Frank's Diary.
Plot introduction
Nathan Zuckerman is a promising young writer who spends a night in the home of E.I. Lonoff, an established author whom Zuckerman idolizes (and who is, some critics have argued, a portrait of Bernard MalamudBernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud was an author of novels and short stories. Along with Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, he was one of the great American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford...
or Henry Roth
Henry Roth
Henry Roth was an American novelist and short story writer.-Biography:Roth was born in Tysmenitz near Stanislaviv, Galicia, Austro-Hungary...
). Also staying in the Lonoff home is Amy Bellette, a young woman with a vague past whom the narrator suggests might be Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
who has survived the Holocaust and is living in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anonymously. It only becomes apparent at the end of this section that it is a fiction imagined by Zuckerman. He later confronts Amy, telling her that she looks like Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
, but she fails to react in the way his fiction has encouraged him to hope.
Television movie
In 1984 a televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adaptation was made of the book in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was directed by Tristram Powell
Tristram Powell
Tristram Powell is a television and film director. He was educated at Eton College. His credits include American Friends, episodes of series five and six of Foyle's War, and adaptations of the novels The Ghost Writer and Falling.Powell is the son of the novelist Anthony Powell and Lady Violet...
and starred Rose Arrick, Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
, Sam Wanamaker
Sam Wanamaker
Samuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor and is credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London...
, Cecile Mann, MacIntyre Dixon, Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...
, Ralph Morse, Joseph Wiseman
Joseph Wiseman
Joseph Wiseman was a Canadian theater and film actor, best known for starring as the titular antagonist of the first James Bond film, Dr. No, his role as Manny Weisbord on Crime Story, and his career on Broadway...
, and Patricia Fellows.
Critical reception
The book was widely praised at publication. In The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
described Roth as "Always one of the most intelligent and energetic of American writers, he has now become one of the most scrupulous." In The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, critic Harold Bloom said of the three collected Zuckerman novels, "'Zuckerman Bound' merits something reasonably close to the highest level of esthetic praise for tragicomedy."
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer committee for fiction selected The Ghost Writer for the prize in 1980. The Pulitzer board, which has final say over awarding the prize, overrode their decision and chose Norman Mailer'sNorman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
The Executioner's Song
The Executioner's Song
The Executioner's Song is a 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Norman Mailer that depicts the events surrounding the execution of Gary Gilmore by the state of Utah for murder. The title of the book may be a play on "The Lord High Executioner's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado...
instead.
Exit GhostExit GhostExit Ghost is a 2007 novel by Philip Roth. It is the ninth, and Roth says his last, novel featuring Nathan Zuckerman.-Plot summary:The plot centers on Zuckerman's return home to New York after eleven years in New England. The purpose of Zuckerman's journey, which he takes the week before the 2004 U.S...
In 2007, Roth published the novel Exit GhostExit Ghost
Exit Ghost is a 2007 novel by Philip Roth. It is the ninth, and Roth says his last, novel featuring Nathan Zuckerman.-Plot summary:The plot centers on Zuckerman's return home to New York after eleven years in New England. The purpose of Zuckerman's journey, which he takes the week before the 2004 U.S...
, which Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called "elegiac" and "a kind of valedictory bookend to 'The Ghost Writer.'"