Philip Roth
Philip Roth (b. March 19, 1933) is a Jewish American novelist. His first book, Goodbye, Columbus, earned him the National Book Award in 1960. But it wasn’t until the publication of Portnoy’s Complaint in 1969 that Roth gained widespread fame, adulation and, among some in the Jewish community, a certain amount of loathing.
Over the last five decades, he has become one of the most celebrated and prolific authors working in the English language. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1997 novel, American Pastoral.
His most recent novel is called Nemesis. It was published in October 2010.
The following is a list of awards Roth has won for his writing:
- 1960 National Book Award for Goodbye, Columbus
- 1986 National Book Critics Circle Award for The Counterlife
- 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award for Patrimony
- 1994 PEN/Faulkner Award for Operation Shylock
- 1995 National Book Award for Sabbath’s Theater
- 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for American Pastoral
- 1998 Ambassador Book Award of the English-Speaking Union for I Married a Communist
- 1998 National Medal of Arts
- 2000 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (France) for American Pastoral
- 2001 PEN/Faulkner Award for The Human Stain
- 2001 Gold Medal In Fiction from The American Academy of Arts and Letters
- 2001 WH Smith Literary Award for The Human Stain
- 2002 National Book Foundation’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
- 2002 Prix Médicis Étranger (France) for The Human Stain
- 2003 Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Harvard University
- 2005 Sidewise Award for Alternate History for The Plot Against America
- 2005 James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction for The Plot Against America
- 2006 PEN/Nabokov Award for lifetime achievement
- 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award for Everyman
- 2007 PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction
- 2010 Paris Review’s Hadada Prize
Articles about Philip Roth:
October 28, 2010
Interviews with Roth, Bellow, Singer, more
If you’ve got a few hours to spare in order to get lost online, you could do worse than to wander around in The Paris Review’s newly public Interviews section. The first issue under the new editor, Lorin Stein, just … Continue reading
October 7, 2010
Nobel Prize in Literature: Who will win?
The U.K.-based website Ladbrokes is listing the odds for who will win the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. The prize will be announced early this morning (before I wake up). As of Wednesday night, the odds on favorite to win … Continue reading
October 5, 2010
Nemesis by Philip Roth out today
Philip Roth’s new novel, Nemesis, debuts today and we’ve got a nice roundup of reviews and reactions. Nemesis is Roth’s 32nd book and his fifth novel in as many years. Not bad for a 77-year-old writer who, at this point, … Continue reading
October 22, 2009
Philip Roth on writing sex scenes
Here’s a video of Tina Brown interviewing Philip Roth about his book, The Humbling. The best line is about a minute and a half in when Brown asks Roth, “Is it a hard thing to write a sex scene with … Continue reading
October 22, 2009
Philip Roth talks about ‘Portnoy’s Complaint’
In this video, Tina Brown interviews Philip Roth and asks him about Portnoy’s Complaint, the 1969 book that brought the author widespread critical and commercial success. Roth says he has no regrets in writing or publishing the book and that … Continue reading
April 15, 2009
Goodbye, Portnoy? I don’t think so.
There’s a fairly new ‘web exclusive’ article on the Vanity Fair Web site and it talks about the rise of the ‘New Yiddishists.’ The terms refers to “today’s talented crop of young Jewish writers, such as Nathan Englander, Michael Chabon, … Continue reading
April 7, 2009
Philip Roth 50th anniversary celebration
Not this looks like it’s going to be a big deal. On Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 7 p.m., Queens College will host a 50th anniversary celebration of the work of Philip Roth. In addition to Mr. Roth, other featured … Continue reading
January 19, 2009
Portnoy’s Complaint: Summary and notes
Portnoy’s Complaint is a book by Philip Roth that helped bring its author widespread critical and commercial success. Published in 1969, the book tells the story of Alexander Portnoy, a 33-year-old Jewish bachelor, civil rights lawyer and New Jersey native. … Continue reading
June 25, 2008
Roth’s ‘Indignation’ to become movie
I was remiss in not posting something about this earlier. But heck, the book hasn’t even been published yet so I guess it’s not too late. It seems that last April Hollywood producer Scott Rudin (pictured right) purchased the rights … Continue reading
June 20, 2008
Read this before reviewing Roth’s new novel
Philip Roth‘s new novel, Indignation, will not appear in stores until this fall. But advance copies of the book went out to critics in April and this fact has Harper’s Magazine contributing editor Wyatt Mason thinking about how it will … Continue reading
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