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April 03, 2007

April's new book ...

   ... is Philip Roth's "American Pastoral." And if you're going to read it and join the discussion on this blog, get ready for one heckuva literary ride.

The novel is long, dense, fascinating. It takes dedication to get to the last page, but you'll be glad you did.

Roth is considered one of America's best novelists, but there is one thing true about his writing style readers either love or hate: No detail, however tiny, is left unexamined.

The pages of description - ranging from how to make fine leather gloves to a street in Newark, New Jersey - can leave readers exhausted.

Roth's characters are prone to endless internal dialogue. But they are also real - people you are likely to know, who suffer in ways you can relate to.

That's all I'm going to say about "American Pastoral" for now. But if you are reading it, or have already read it, please join in the discussion: What did it do for you?

Don't miss Andrew Z. Galarneau's story on "American Pastoral" in today's Life & Arts section.

Posted at 06:00 AM in Book of the month |

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Reader comments are posted immediately and are not edited. Please use good taste, be respectful of other writers, keep comments relevant to the post and do not impersonate someone else. We are not responsible for the comments on this blog, but we reserve the right to remove any that are libelous, obscene, threatening, abusive, or otherwise offensive, and to block any user who does not follow these guidelines. Comments containing objectionable words are automatically blocked. Some comments may be re-published in The Buffalo News print edition.