Literary Caucus: Assessing Philip Roth's Career

Literary Notables Assess Philip Roth's Career
FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2008 file photo, author Philip Roth poses for a photo in the offices of his publisher Houghton Mifflin, in New York. The 79-year-old novelist recently told a French publication, Les inRocks, that his 2010 release "Nemesis" would be his last. A spokeswoman for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said Friday that she spoke with Roth and that he confirmed his remarks. Roth completed more than 20 novels over half a century and often turning out one a year. He won virtually every prize short of the Nobel and wrote such classics as "American Pastoral" and "Portnoy's Complaint." (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2008 file photo, author Philip Roth poses for a photo in the offices of his publisher Houghton Mifflin, in New York. The 79-year-old novelist recently told a French publication, Les inRocks, that his 2010 release "Nemesis" would be his last. A spokeswoman for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said Friday that she spoke with Roth and that he confirmed his remarks. Roth completed more than 20 novels over half a century and often turning out one a year. He won virtually every prize short of the Nobel and wrote such classics as "American Pastoral" and "Portnoy's Complaint." (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

Philip Roth turns 80 next month, with 27 novels behind him, but when he announced his retirement last November, it felt like he was actually cutting something short—possibly the most prolific, probably the most distinguished, and certainly the most debated career in postwar American fiction.

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