The Human Stain (The American Trilogy, #3) in Philip Roth... is awesome.

Nov 30, 2012 Amin rated it it was amazing

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The Human Stain is a work of incredible force, beauty, structure, precision, and vividity. You cannot talk of one style, because there is no such thing. There are multiple styles for multiple consciousnesses. And each one has been developed and done with utmost dexterity and prowess. Where else can you find a character like Faunia? Like Lester Farley? And like Coleman Silk? How else can you dig into their lives like this? These are characters about whom, about each of whom, ten or more books can The Human Stain is a work of incredible force, beauty, structure, precision, and vividity. You cannot talk of one style, because there is no such thing. There are multiple styles for multiple consciousnesses. And each one has been developed and done with utmost dexterity and prowess. Where else can you find a character like Faunia? Like Lester Farley? And like Coleman Silk? How else can you dig into their lives like this? These are characters about whom, about each of whom, ten or more books can be written. Philip Roth gives us a story which we cannot believe to be fiction, to be made up, to be created. It's a story the reader will feel has always been there, like a germ of truth.

I believe that this work differs slightly from, and stands above, Roth's other works. The difference and superiority is because of the fact that in The Human Stain Roth is not only a great psychologist, a great teller, an elaborator, but also a displayer, an illustrator, a master stylist, a maestro of tone and atmosphere and view and voice and everything that is there to be shown in his collection of characters. He develops multiple vocabulary and languages for his different characters. For the Vietanam War veteran, for the illiterate Faunia who has been wronged by most everybody since childhood and is averted to learning, for Coleman Silk who is not less complicated than the former ones, if not more.

Roth's narrative control and organization is colossal. The strength of the prose and the description is strange at times. So many deep insights about sex, trauma, terror, writing, and about different aspects of life are in this book that is enough for a lifetime as food for thought. Roth is also vocal about many issues and misunderstandings and shallow views about them. Such as racism, feminism, language, academia etc.

There is the usual Philip-Roth tragi-comedy tension between the random forces of life and the struggle for singularity. But this work is the best example of this in his corpus. I really need to mention Roth's involvement, or maybe obsession, with history, and how skillfully he uses the story to write about history and uses the history to write about the story. But that's a long discussion.

Finally, when I was reading this unassailable masterpiece, I was thinking that Roth's priority must always be story. That's why I think Roth is primarily an elemental story teller. His realism, not on the level of narration, but on a deeper level, is a savage and wild one, one to which there is no stop, a comprehensive or total realism, if I may call it. That's why he tells us a story as if it's biographical. As if it's been there all along. In a way not the slightest lack of logic or rational failure can be found. The story is perfect. Must be perfect. There is no room for what the writer wants or likes. It's the story which tells him what to write. It's the characters. And again, that's why long after the story's events have all happened and there is nothing major left to happen, understanding, logic, evidence, dialogue, thought, consciousness, introspection, and retrospection continue.

I need another star for this book. ...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Beth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books, jewish

This was the book that got me hooked on Roth

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Aug 29, 2010 Tracy Towley rated it it was amazing

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I have absolutely no idea what to say about his. Philip Roth is easily my favorite author, ever. He's the kind of dude that could write about my couch for 10,000 pages and I would read it and be completely interested the entire time. He's the most awarded living author, the only author ever to have won three PEN/Faulkner awards. You really, really, need to read something, ANYTHING! by him. Please? AND THEN TELL ME ABOUT IT! ...more

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