My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
The Human Stain: A Novel (The American Trilogy #3)
by
Philip Roth
It is 1998, the year in which America is whipped into a frenzy of prurience by the impeachment of a president, and in a small New England town, an aging classics professor, Coleman Silk, is forced to retire when his colleagues decree that he is a racist. The charge is a lie, but the real truth about Silk would have astonished his most virulent accuser. Coleman Silk has a s...more
Hardcover, 376 pages
Published
May 10th 2000
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(first published 2000)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
13,982)
So I watched the movie, and I really shouldn't have. To quote Pope Pius VII, it sometimes makes you wonder if you're on the right planet. Anthony Hopkins plays an extremely white black man! And the ever-crushingly beautiful Nicole Kidman plays an illiterate woman who's a janitor! Yes! And we're supposed to take this seriously! And the actor who plays the young Anthony Hopkins looks absolutely nothing like him! It's so insane. I believe they take a lot of drugs in Hollywood, and this movie appear...more
view all 54 comments
oh, phillip roth! you CARD. you IMP. no one makes me laugh like you.
around this time last year i was on vacation on the cape reading american pastoral, another roth novella of fun and good humor! (read brinda's perfect description for an idea of that one.) i ended up forgetting the book there, with about forty pages left to read, and i never bought a new copy. i didn't care that i hadn't finished it because I WAS SO EXHAUSTED. the book wasn't bad. the book was great. but reading a r...more
around this time last year i was on vacation on the cape reading american pastoral, another roth novella of fun and good humor! (read brinda's perfect description for an idea of that one.) i ended up forgetting the book there, with about forty pages left to read, and i never bought a new copy. i didn't care that i hadn't finished it because I WAS SO EXHAUSTED. the book wasn't bad. the book was great. but reading a r...more
Hey Roth, I know you have a great vocabulary...Just tell me a damn story.
Let me explain: I just read a very positive review of this book stating that Roth has such an expansive vocabulary, and every word seems painstakingly chosen, etc. That is exactly what I hate about this book! A narrative is supposed to flow, not make you resolve to study the dictionary more fastidiously.
For the record, I have a pretty good vocabulary and I thorouoghly enjoy creative uses of the ...more
Let me explain: I just read a very positive review of this book stating that Roth has such an expansive vocabulary, and every word seems painstakingly chosen, etc. That is exactly what I hate about this book! A narrative is supposed to flow, not make you resolve to study the dictionary more fastidiously.
For the record, I have a pretty good vocabulary and I thorouoghly enjoy creative uses of the ...more
This is extremely well written, the characters, the narration, the dialogue, they all have this very thoughtful, measured quality that makes the whole thing seem incredibly believable. Yet the human stain feels, somehow, not exaclty dated, but maybe just too much of its time. The way it touches upon the fallout from the Lewinsky scandal and the often asinine identity politics of 90's academia struck me as just too concerned with the sort of petty moral dramas that seem almost laughable in light ...more
Set in the fateful summer of '98, the Lewinski scandal sets the backdrop for Roth's provocative exploration of the conflict between unbridled individualism and social conformity. This friction manifests most obviously in race, epitomized by Coleman Silk's decision to subvert his ancestry and pass as a white Jew, an effort to avoid characterization as part of the larger 'we' associated with his black identity. Roth is careful to extend the notion of 'stain' beyond race, Les the embodiment of hist...more
This novel was disappointing - I expected much more from it. The story details the life of an African American college professor who has been "passing" as white since he was in his late teens. He hid this fact from everyone he knew, including his wife and children. His secret begins to unravel when he refers to two absent students as "spooks." Because the students are black, the remark is deemed racist, when he had actually intended the word to mean "ghosts." T...more
THINGS I LIKED ABOUT The Human Stain
1. The amazing language. Philip Roth has such an amazing vocabulary, first off. Every word he uses seems painstakingly chosen and every sentence carefully constructed. Honestly, the writing itself is what kept me interested.
2. The idea of the educational playing field being decimated by politics. My favorite sections of the book were the few scenes that took place on campus.
3. I liked the parallels between Coleman and Clinton. Very clever. T...more
1. The amazing language. Philip Roth has such an amazing vocabulary, first off. Every word he uses seems painstakingly chosen and every sentence carefully constructed. Honestly, the writing itself is what kept me interested.
2. The idea of the educational playing field being decimated by politics. My favorite sections of the book were the few scenes that took place on campus.
3. I liked the parallels between Coleman and Clinton. Very clever. T...more
Mr. Roth,
Your banal prose and elementary gimmicks do nothing to endear yourself to me, sir. If, in the future, a thought flies into your head and you would like to put it down on paper, I would first suggest that you hide or burn every John Updike novel you've been petting to sleep each night, get yourself a fistful of fresh adjectives, and wipe your nose. Far too much of you gets onto the page, sir, and none of it is to your credit.
Many people are impressed because you...more
Your banal prose and elementary gimmicks do nothing to endear yourself to me, sir. If, in the future, a thought flies into your head and you would like to put it down on paper, I would first suggest that you hide or burn every John Updike novel you've been petting to sleep each night, get yourself a fistful of fresh adjectives, and wipe your nose. Far too much of you gets onto the page, sir, and none of it is to your credit.
Many people are impressed because you...more
The "human *spot*" by Philip Roth
My reading interest has caught
By very strange, to my mind, plot,
To be described below in one shot
Afro-American smart and ambitious male, while in his youth,
Decided to conceal (for the career sake) the veritable truth,
About whom he really was at very moment of his birth
When naked he has come to be, on this quite sinful earthly planet Earth
Being by complexion to appear white with fairly light skin,
...more
My reading interest has caught
By very strange, to my mind, plot,
To be described below in one shot
Afro-American smart and ambitious male, while in his youth,
Decided to conceal (for the career sake) the veritable truth,
About whom he really was at very moment of his birth
When naked he has come to be, on this quite sinful earthly planet Earth
Being by complexion to appear white with fairly light skin,
...more
K.D.
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommended to K.D. by:
501 Must Read Books and 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
Shelves:
1001-core
New Jersey. 1940's to 1998. The main protagonist is a 71-year old former boxing champion and Athena's dean of faculty, Coleman Silk. He was dismissed from the university, called Athena because he referred, though innocently, the two absent black students as "spooks." Prior to his dismissal, he was having an affair with Faunin Farley, a 34-year old janitress of the school.
This 2000 novel of Philip Roth won the PEN/Faulkner Award and said to be the best novel he has written....more
This 2000 novel of Philip Roth won the PEN/Faulkner Award and said to be the best novel he has written....more
So I read this book because I hadn't opened the covers of a Philip Roth novel since "Goodbye Columbus" (and that was more in homage to the film with Ali McGraw and Richard Benjamin) and decided it was time to punch this ticket. I have to admit I found the experience excrutiating. It was well written, at times fascinating, but there really wasn't a moment when I didn't want the experience to be OVER. It was like hearing nails scratching on the blackboard. One angry rant after anothe...more
Looking for a book to read in the airport in Mexico, I see a small book store with a tiny shelf of english novels. On this shelf are some Danielle Steels, Harry Potters and Dean Koontz'es. I move a few around, a little disappointed, and also (not for the first time on this trip) ashamed of being American. I see a Philip Roth book (another Zuckerman? really?) Yes, the "Human Stain."
So I reluctantly make my purchase, read for awhile, get back to the gate and my friend asks "...more
So I reluctantly make my purchase, read for awhile, get back to the gate and my friend asks "...more
So I've given this five stars not because I was particularly blown away by the story, and not because Philip Roth is incredibly smart with a great vocabulary, because I wasn't that amazed by that either really. I just really appreciate how Mr. Roth has created these characters, how indepth he got, showing their incredibly human imperfections. The part that really made me think, Oh gracious, she's a person and she's scared and she's really messed up now, was when Delphine claimed Coleman broke ...more
[warning: spoiler!]
The thing that attracts me about this novel is quite simply how it is told. The narrator, Nathan Zuckerman, is also a character (albeit a relatively minor one although he grows in importance as the story continues). He is not, therefore, omniscient, although this becomes easy to forget. The novel is written as though he were omniscient, and then draws attention to this gap repeatedly at moments where Zuckerman explains who told him what, how he knows certain bits o...more
The thing that attracts me about this novel is quite simply how it is told. The narrator, Nathan Zuckerman, is also a character (albeit a relatively minor one although he grows in importance as the story continues). He is not, therefore, omniscient, although this becomes easy to forget. The novel is written as though he were omniscient, and then draws attention to this gap repeatedly at moments where Zuckerman explains who told him what, how he knows certain bits o...more
This is just an incredibly written book. The first Philip Roth novel I read was "American Pastoral," and I remember thinking as I read it that I was consciously aware of how beautiful the writing was. Not the subject matter or anything, but the simple arrangement, placement, sequence, and flow of the words on the page. I cannot remember a book before I read "American Pastoral" that so swept me away with the language and dexterity of prose, simultaneously gripped by reading...more
When I started this book, I didn't really know anything about Philip Roth or his alter ego Nathan Zuckerman. This is possibly the most peculiar book I've ever read. I'd never read a book in first person where the main character wasn't the narrator.
I usually give a book forty pages or so before giving up on it, and it took me those entire forty pages to get into it, but it was worth it. It wasn't an easy read and it took me over a month, but I'm glad I got through it. It wasn't an upliftin...more
I usually give a book forty pages or so before giving up on it, and it took me those entire forty pages to get into it, but it was worth it. It wasn't an easy read and it took me over a month, but I'm glad I got through it. It wasn't an upliftin...more
I always meant to read some Philip Roth, but I imagined him as the sort of uber-masculine, perhaps even sexist, writer who would turn me off. I was wrong. I deeply enjoyed this book, even though there were some parts that some people might think of as sexist. (The Monica Lewinski bit, for example.)
In fact, this book made me realize that some of my favorite writers--Kundera, for example--are masculine types accused of being sexist. This is perhaps odd considering that I have never...more
In fact, this book made me realize that some of my favorite writers--Kundera, for example--are masculine types accused of being sexist. This is perhaps odd considering that I have never...more
This book was just awful. I either threw it out or gave it away (hopefully to someone I don't like). I picked up it up because was a great idea for a story--unfortunately, Roth spends so much time showing off his prowess with language that he never gets around to telling it. I felt somewhat the same way about John Banville's The Sea--it was so beautifully written I had to (somewhat) excuse the fact that it was frankly boring--but the difference between that and the Human Stain was that Roth's...more
The scope of this novel is amazing. Roth is a very skilled character author. He can really put you inside a character's world and perspective. Here, Roth explores "big topics" (truth, justice, human nature, etc.) and frames his exploration within different characteristics of the US sociocultural psyche, where each character represents one aspect of that psyche. So cool. Since reading "Everyman," though, I've decided that I like Roth best when he's more focused. I found myself...more
For sheer power of narrative Philip Roth is exceptional. I don't think I've read a writer, since I read William Styron's novels many years ago, that literally picks you up by the scruff of the neck and drags you along. You can kick and scream against the intensity and speed that you are travelling but somehow you just can't put the book down. This is an amazing look at the ridiculous, hypocritical society that is small town America, brilliantly done. Thank you, Cat. I hope to read Deception soon...more
Se la mente ha un corpo, se esiste una modalità fisica attraverso cui leggere un autore cerebrale come Roth, se esiste davvero qualcosa del genere, beh, io credo che sia l'unico modo giusto per affrontare le sue storie ed uscirne, se non indenni, almeno sulle proprie gambe. Ho fatto l'errore di pretendere di proteggermi da lui: la mia lettura era macchiata da pregiudizi che mi ero fatta leggendo commenti un po' ovunque. Credevo di conoscerlo già ancora prima di prendere lo scontrino in libreria....more
Philip Roth appears to be a decent writer and I'm going to trying reading something else by him, but unfortunately after a good start this book makes a sudden postmodernist turn and disappears up its own backside.
We start out thinking this is a book about the relationships and secrets of four people surrounding a New England college. Then after a third of the way into the book, surprise, this is actually a book about a fifth character who is writing about the other four characters. ...more
We start out thinking this is a book about the relationships and secrets of four people surrounding a New England college. Then after a third of the way into the book, surprise, this is actually a book about a fifth character who is writing about the other four characters. ...more
If “Election” perfectly captured the “why me worry?” side of post-Reagan Washington, “The Human Stain” was a snapshot of the ultimate outcome of the Culture Wars playing out between the New Right and the remnants of the New Left. Unlike Roth’s other political works, there is something approaching nihilism at the end of this work; the systems destroy people, but those individuals are not tragic heroes brought low by their goodness, or even their idealism, they are simply victims of human choice (...more
Anyone who makes fun at academic community so brilliantly has my praise.( If anyone needs some reality check, it's that kind of snobbish professors.) Although that's not at all what the novel is about I just had to say it. Roth is so good at making fun of everything that it can be distracting. Nevertheless, there is truth in his humour- stuff that makes you think. Again not the most important aspect of novel, but something I really liked is an attractive amount of social commentary and political...more
After really enjoying The Plot Against America, I was dead excited to pick up this Roth, set in an era I remember in New England, a place I'm rapidly becoming familiar with. I was a bit disappointed though. The Human Stain falls into the Middle aged man having a bit of a crisis category, although at least this time, the chap has a pretty decent reason. Coleman Silk, to all eyes, was a highly successful classicist, Dean of an Arty College, and a strong and traditional family at his back. He l...more
With a recent interest into modernist works, I’ve been wanting to see and understand how an author communicates and relates to his readers of today, where the world has become so selfish and saturated by news and media, where there’s serious lack of strong sense of morals and inhibition from the senses. Strolling around in the French Concession in Shanghai over the weekend, I found “The Human Stain” for sale at a side-street cart, and this was how my relationship with Roth for the first tim...more
A lot of ideas were floating through this book and colliding with one another into beautiful sentences that added up to a wrecked whole. Roth did not seem able or want to choose his theme. Was it our American Puritanism finger-wagging embodied in the professor's late-life romance with a girl decades his junior? Why else would Bill Clinton get thrown in the mix. Or was it about race, and the professor's need to mask his identity (this is the same professor making time with the young girl)? In som...more
If I hadn’t seen the movie, I probably would have had a hard time finishing this book. I’ve read Portnoy’s Complaint, and I thought I remembered Roth being a little more sophisticated than this. (Perhaps I should plan a re-read to see if that’s actually true.) It’s a book about passing for white, which should give it plenty of context to work within; however, it reads like a collegiate exercise in “how to give your story a sense of PLACE”. References to Clinton’s impeachment and urban renewal fe...more
The third-part of Roth’s second Zuckerman trilogy (The Human Stain) was written in the context of America’s obsession with Clinton’s affair and considers Identity politics in American life. Roth uses Zuckerman’s portrayal of Coleman Silk’s racial deceit as a back-drop to explore ‘America’s oldest communal passion… its most treacherous and subversive pleasure: the ecstasy of sanctimony’ (p. 2).
This ecstasy is submerged in a gap, an excision of our memory. Like Toni Morrison in ‘The Bl...more
This ecstasy is submerged in a gap, an excision of our memory. Like Toni Morrison in ‘The Bl...more
I was taken by surprise- really ecstatically shocked- by the incredible genius behind the words penned by Philip Roth (so shocked that it actually concerned me- how had I never been exposed to his work before? How many other authors are out there of comparable caliber whose names I currently would not recognize? Why does nobody I’ve asked in the past few weeks, from many different circles of friends and family who I consistently and obsessively bring Roth up around recognize his name or works? S...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current reading | 1 | 21 | Mar 19, 2009 09:08am |
Readers Also Enjoyed
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained early literary fame with the 1959 collection Goodbye, Columbus (winner of 1960's National Book Award), cemented it with his 1969 bestseller Portnoy's Complaint, and has continued to write critically-acclaimed works, many of which feature his fictional alter ego, Nathan Zuckerman. The Zuckerman novels began with The Ghost Writer in 1979, and inc...more
More about Philip Roth...
Share This Book
5 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“Because that is when you love somebody - when you see them being game in the face of the worst. Not courageous. Not heroic. Just game.”
—
45 people liked it
“The pleasure isn't in owning the person. The pleasure is this. Having another contender in the room with you.”
—
27 people liked it
More quotes…
