Monday, February 14, 2011

The 50 most essential works of Jewish fiction

At Jewcy, Jason Diamond named "The 50 Most Essential Works Of Jewish Fiction Of The Last 100 Years."

The novels of Philip Roth to make the list:
3. Portnoy’s Complaint (1969)

Trying to pick one book as the ultimate Philip Roth work isn’t as hard as you think. Portnoy is the book you see every new title compared to, even to this day. Goodbye, Columbus made him famous, but Portnoy made him a creepy god.

14. American Pastoral (1997)

23. Goodbye, Columbus (1959)
Read about #1 on the list.

American Pastoral is on Sheila Hancock's list of her six best books Maria Semple's list of her six best books, and among Ward Just's five favorite novels about the pursuit of money. It appears on John Mullan's list of ten of the best riots in literature.

Goodbye, Columbus is one of A.E. Hotchner's favorite coming-of-age tales.

Also see Erica Wagner's list of the best of Philip Roth.

--Marshal Zeringue