Philip Roth, Zuckerman Unbound

Dan O'Brien (University College Cork)

Ed. by Stephen E. Meats, Pittsburg State University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1981

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

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Zuckerman Unbound

(1981) is Philip Roth’s ninth full-length novel and the second instalment of his first Zuckerman trilogy, succeeding

The Ghost Writer

(1979) and preceding

The Anatomy Lesson

(1983).

The Ghost Writer

tracks the artistic maturation of the young novelist Nathan Zuckerman (a character whose biography parallels that of Roth) as he attempts to reconcile his creative independence with his ostensible Jewish obligations. The novel is set in the 1950s, at a time when the Jewish-American community was still reeling from the implications of the Holocaust. As such, Zuckerman’s unadorned presentation of Jewish life in his short fiction angers many prominent members of his community – including his own father. The story revolves around Zuckerman’s visit to the home of his…

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2593 words

Citation: O'Brien, Dan. "Zuckerman Unbound". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 January 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8929, accessed 25 November 2024.]

Philip Roth, Zuckerman Unbound

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