NYLONbooks

Sabbath's Theatre

Sabbath’s Theatre, June 2009, 8.5/10.

Written by Philip Roth. Published by Vintage.

A tremendously sad novel that is difficult to review. Perhaps the best example of the author’s versatility that I have read, I think that one could ascribe many themes to this novel without difficulty, and with so much going on in the way that the protagonist deals with himself and with those around him it isn’t necessarily incorrect to do so. The character development here is remarkable, and the personal and family history as well as the rationalising that occurs as things happen are done very well; I doubt many readers could forget the story or players quickly. The writing style is raw and aggressive and the language and ideas are complicated, and I read this book with a dictionary.  Not a book for those afraid of bad language.