| Despite Philip Roth's literary achievements, he is frequently dismissed as the author of humorous Jewish novels. Zuckerman Bound, which includes The Ghost Writer, Zuckerman Unbound, The Anatomy Lesson, and The Prague Orgy, solidly establishes Roth as one of the major American authors of the late twentieth century. In these works, Roth's portrait of Zuckerman stands as a realistic account of the vicissitudes of an artist's life; however, Zuckerman differs sufficiently from the author to halt the autobiographical speculation that has raged since the publication of Portnoy's Complaint in 1969. An analysis of the narrative voices Roth employs suggests that he borrows from much of the novelistic tradition. The first-person narration of The Ghost Writer functions as an autobiographical/confessional memoir of Zuckerman's, Zuckerman Unbound's third-person narration owes a debt to comic satire, the roman a clef influences The Anatomy Lesson, and The Prague Orgy, written in journal form, borrows from the epistolary tradition. Throughout Zuckerman Bound, Roth utilizes the device of reinvention--the recreation of basic personae, such as authors, fans, father figures, using a different character in each of the works. A survey of critics' responses to the works examines, and refutes, the misconceptions, which have existed for decades, about Roth's talent and intentions. Roth's most recent work, the contradictory and complex novel, The Counterlife, serves as an appropriate culmination to the Zuckerman series. |
