RIP Philip Roth

[seekingferret]

"Oh, what a race we are, fans! What a radiant, raffish, raggedy, rakish, rambunctious, rampaging, ranting, rapacious, rare, raucous, raunchy, ravaged, ravening, realistic, rebellious, receptive, reckless, redeemable, refined, reflective, regal, regimented, regrettable, relentless, reliable, religious, remarkable, remorseful, repellent, repentant, repetitious (!!!!), reprehensible, repressed, reproductive, reptilian, repugnant, repulsive, reputable, resentful, reserved, resigned, resilient, resistant, resistible, resourceful, respectable, restless, resplendent, responsible, responsive, restrained, retarded, revengeful, reverential, revolting, rhapsodical, rhythmical, ribald, rickety, ridiculous, righteous, rigorous, riotous, risible, ritualistic, robustious (adj. Archaic or Humorous [pick 'em], meaning "rough, rude or boisterous," according to N.W.), roguish, rollicking, romantic, rompish, rotten, rough-and-ready, rough-and-tumble, rough-housing, rowdyish, rude, rueful, ruined, rummy (chiefly Brit. don'cha know. Slang odd; queer), rundown, runty ruthless race!"

~Philip Roth, The Great American Novel


There are repulsive things in the writing of Philip Roth, and they sometimes tarnished the luminous beauty that was otherwise there, but nobody could write a sentence like him.

Comments

[kass]

You are not alone in that sentiment.

Baruch dayan emet.

[seekingferret]

Yeah, on facebook me and one of my college roommates were trading favorite quotations from American Pastoral when we heard the news. It's an amazing book from end to end, so incredibly dense with beautiful sentences and stunning ideas.