Sunday 19 April 2009

Philip Roth: Exit Ghost

Near the end of this book, the main character describes his trip to New York as a story between a has-been and the not-yets. That the main character is nearing the end of his life and suffering from impotence, offers a great perspective into the way in which our everyday concerns can be dictated my bodily needs-desires, etc.

It also offers great insight into the nature of sexual infatuation and the gap between such fantasy and 'reality.'

Yet, for all that nothing very much happens. This work is great as an amplification of the imagination. But it fails because it is about the private thoughts of 'the writer'- all the good stuff is in the narrator's head.

It is a frustrating read. Perhaps just like life, with moments of quiet desperation.

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