Ratings14
Average rating3.6
Roth has a way with writing characters. Every single one of them is a complex piece of art for better or worse. In other novels, characters are sympathetic or not. In Philip Roth novels, they just exist in their worlds. So much detail goes into their thoughts, motivations, and actions that it can be hard to believe they're not real.
In Everyman, Philip Roth spins a meandering yarn about a man who has it all until he realizes he doesn't. Themes of love, sex, family, religion, and especially death are seen throughout. While the book can get a little confusing because of all the back and forth and no real plot, this is a beautiful examination of death and the willingness to live and the acceptance (or lack thereof) of the inevitable.
E' difficile esprimere un giudizio su questo libro. La storia di un uomo comune (Everyman) negli ultimi anni della sua vita. Riflessioni sulla morte, sulla malattia, la solitudine e gli errori fatti e ormai irrimediabili. Tuttavia non mi ha preso. Sarà che mi sembrano tematiche ancora cosi lontane o per la poca empatia con il personaggio. Da rileggere tra una decina d'anni :-)
This one... what an odd read. Definitely amongst the saddest books I've read, but near the end, I started thinking about [b:Der Fremde Freund / Drachenblut 1514969 Der Fremde Freund / Drachenblut Christoph Hein http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1184547651s/1514969.jpg 1506667] (in English), which resonated so much more deeply with me. Everyman's main character is at first almost relatable, but by the end of the book, there's a feeling that all of the sadness is entirely physical in nature - that he's caring so much about his body without any real plans of what to do with it, and without a shred of caring for other people. Roth plays with this in the last scene - in which the gravedigger is a far more relatable character, and someone who has a really different feeling on the passing of life.