The Grapes of Roth

The late, great American novelist performed an important, but little-known, cultural role during the Cold War.  

From the heart of Europe to the world: Philip Roth (and Franz Kafka), 1968.

Much has been written about the life and work of the American novelist Philip Roth since his death on 22 May. Like many great artists (Shakespeare, Beethoven, Rembrandt), he had a vigorous, uncompromising ‘late’ period, during which his writing took on an unmistakable style and inimitable humour that was often excruciatingly funny. Yet there is a side to Roth that has been somewhat neglected by the obituarists.

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