Operation Shylock
by Philip Roth
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Operation Shylock.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 457)
Read in June, 2008
I hated it. I usually LIKE books because I feel like I can learn from every book. So I usually don't have a strong dislike for books. But this book was an exception. It was so bad. Not only did I not like it but HATED IT with a vehemence I didn't think I was capable of.
Murderously boring, maddeningly pointless, and unnecessarily long, the book was a torture. Because it's my categorical imperative to read every book I start, I could not, to keep my integrity and autonomy in tact, put the bo...more
Murderously boring, maddeningly pointless, and unnecessarily long, the book was a torture. Because it's my categorical imperative to read every book I start, I could not, to keep my integrity and autonomy in tact, put the bo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Philip Roth and...Philip Roth?
Some companion-reading to go along with Saramago's The Double.
Philip details, in the first few pages, his wrestling with thoughts of suicide; the discovery that the thoughts were a known side effect of a popular, oft-prescribed sleeping pill, a pain-negating pill for his wrecky knee surgery.
Enjoyed the phone call between Philip Roth (the fake) and "Pierre Roget"...
His wife, Claire (though we shouldn't mistake "Phili...more
Some companion-reading to go along with Saramago's The Double.
Philip details, in the first few pages, his wrestling with thoughts of suicide; the discovery that the thoughts were a known side effect of a popular, oft-prescribed sleeping pill, a pain-negating pill for his wrecky knee surgery.
Enjoyed the phone call between Philip Roth (the fake) and "Pierre Roget"...
His wife, Claire (though we shouldn't mistake "Phili...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I got about halfway through this book when I lost the bag I had left it in. It also contained a notebook of mine with a bunch of half-finished stories and half-baked ideas. I'm really worried about someone else putting those out there in the world. Moreover, the next day I discovered there's an author in Michigan named Steve Gillis. I'm thinking about writing him a letter and finding out if his name is pronounced Gilleeez the way mine is pronounced Gillis. I also want to warn him that there migh...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
I was meant to read this at UEA in 2003 during a course on American Literature from 1970-2002. I found it difficult to read and stopped at page 100. I picked it up now to read it again and fought my way through. It took about a month to read but it was worth it in the end.
This book is by Philip Roth. In the story, Philip Roth (the author) is confronted by a Philip Roth impersonator who goes around Israel and Europe preaching on Diaspora. The story takes place during the trial of John ...more
This book is by Philip Roth. In the story, Philip Roth (the author) is confronted by a Philip Roth impersonator who goes around Israel and Europe preaching on Diaspora. The story takes place during the trial of John ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
Roth is one self-obsessed little pervert; after reading Operation Shylock I can honestly say that I mean that in a good way. The book's premise is that Phillip Roth (the main character based on the author) is being impersonated by another character, claiming to be Phillip Roth. As you might imagine, this ridiculous concept on which to base a novel, allows for some hilarious encounters, as well as, self reflection and musings on Israel. The entire novel basically spans a week and the story line i...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I adore Philip Roth. He unabashedly tackles subjects best left alone. I often get a slightly uncomfortable feeling reading his books.
Most of his writings deal with the concept of the writer versus the writing. Operation Shylock is almost a parody Philip Roth wrote of himself.
In it, Philip Roth is tracking down a Philip Roth impersonator while in Israel attending the trial of a war criminal. I'm almost positive a few of the minor characters are real life friends and associates of his.
...more
Most of his writings deal with the concept of the writer versus the writing. Operation Shylock is almost a parody Philip Roth wrote of himself.
In it, Philip Roth is tracking down a Philip Roth impersonator while in Israel attending the trial of a war criminal. I'm almost positive a few of the minor characters are real life friends and associates of his.
...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I read this book about a billion years ago (seriously, like over a decade, which would have made me... too young to have a chance with it). All I remember is that it was long. And super confusing. And then I gave it to my mom, because it deals with lots of Jew-ness, which she loves. I doubt she ever finished it, because did I mention it was really freaking long?
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
3 comments
Read in April, 2007
Philthy Philip Roth. I adore the man's books, and while this one isn't his best, it's one of his funniest and most incisive regarding one of his favorite themes: the modern Jewish identity. There seems to be a positive correlation between how much a book of Roth's focuses on the Jews and how comic it is; in another life, he might've been of the great Jewish comedians, although his disdain for Woody Allen is well-documented. I spilled a bagel and lox on my paperback copy of OPERATION SHYLOCK a...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I read this in 1997 and when I look at it again now and then I can remember every sentence. How is that possible? It's like the complete opposite of my experience of Woolf. Not making a value judgment -- I love both -- but how do you imprint sentences for so many pages so deeply into someone's memory. I really enjoyed this book, too - the first late-stage Roth I ever read, so it's hard to compare it to the others that I read later on and totally loved for their generosity, accessibility, intelli...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Philip Roth being somewhat hit-or-miss, this one was a miss. It's about a writer named Philip Roth (paging Paul Auster...) who is being impersonated by another Philip Roth who has a political agenda the real Roth finds toxic: getting Jews to leave Israel en masse. The rhetoric and doubling is so dense that it's impossible to figure out, in the end, which side the book falls on, or why we should care in the first place. This is Roth lost in his own museum.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
a book by a jew that plays devil's advocate about the suffering of palestinians: a man pretending to be philip roth is in isreal preaching a new diaspora with the argument that all great jewish minds (freud, einstien, allen, groucho marx, kaufax) have come from diaspora and that no great jewish minds have come from israel. the real philip roth has to go to isreal in order to straighten things out and deny any connection to this idea. totally fucking bizzare.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
What an incredible idea and setting. Philip Roth goes to Israel to cover the trial of Nazi war criminal John Dejamanuk and he meets Phip Roth. The comic features on top of a very serious exploration of who we are move the book forward. The dual or dueling Roth's provide a window into the complexity of our being, thinking, politics, and aesthetics. I can't wait to finish this but right now my bedside table is overloaded with books-in-process.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
Know that I'm a huge Philip Roth fan and tend to love most all of his books. Of the many I've read, this is one of the better ones. This PEN/Faulkner award winner takes place mostly in Jerusalem and involves an imposter Philip Roth, Israeli intelligence, the Demjanjuk war crimes trial, a organization called "Anti-Semites Annonymous"and a reverse exodus of the Jews. Both funny and insightful. Best of all it just may be true.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
It's good, but tiresome and just ridiculously convuluted at times. Self-indulgent, too. By the Epilogue, I feel like I've reread some of Roth's ideas and observations many, many times. As other users have said, the character/identity doubling here is out of control. The whole book feels like an unnecessary labyrinth that's tiresome and impossible to keep interested in the whole way through. But really, it's good.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2007
Hmmm. My first Phillip Roth. After a stop-start, I really got into it. As someone who tries to write herself, you have to admire an author who can carry off 3-page long paragraphs. As one of the reviews of the book says, nothing succeeds like excess in Roth's hands, and that's exactly what you get here. And excess in fiction is quite fun, as it turns out.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Roth has some very provocative ideas about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and about Zionism. But some of the weirder conduct he has his doppleganger engage in distract and detract from what is otherwise a thoughtful political book. It also comes complete with a Shiksa Goddess nurse, also unnecessary.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Roth no escribió el libro sólo con el cerebro sino con el ombligo. Los puso a convivir. Como cuento de dobles, no es especialmente deslumbrante. Como trama de espías cobra complejidad e ironía. Muchas páginas notables.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2007
This book had grabbed me right from the outset. Ahead of its time politically, story well-told and very well-written. However, that faded after about half the book, where I struggled to finish it.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read this in Israel, where a lot of the story takes place, so it could have been the circumstances, but i really really thought this was a hoot. More funny than his usual work.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2005
I read this for a book discussion at Kane Street Synagogue. I'm glad read it, but something about it was not as fulfilling as some of the other books by Roth that I have read.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
