In an astonishing feat of empathy and narrative invention, our most ambitious novelist imagines an alternate version of American history. In 1940 Charles A. Lindbergh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected President. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism. For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threaten to destroy his small, safe corner of America-and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother.
"What if" scenarios are often suspect. They are sometimes thinly veiled tales of the gospel according to the author, taking on the claustrophobic air of a personal fantasia that can't be shared. Such is not the case with Philip Roth's tour de force, The Plot Against America. It is a credible, fully-realized picture of what could happen anywhere, at any time, if the right people and circumstances come together.
The Plot Against America explores a wholly imagined thesis and sees it through to the end: Charles A. Lindbergh defeats FDR for the Presidency in 1940. Lindbergh, the "Lone Eagle," captured the country's imagination by his solo Atlantic crossing in 1927 in the monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis, then had the country's sympathy upon the kidnapping and murder of his young son. He was a true American hero: brave, modest, handsome, a patriot. According to some reliable sources, he was also a rabid isolationist, Nazi sympathizer, and a crypto-fascist. It is these latter attributes of Lindbergh that inform the novel.
The story is framed in Roth's own family history: the family flat in Weequahic, the neighbors, his parents, Bess and Herman, his brother, Sandy and seven-year-old Philip. Jewishness is always the scrim through which Roth examines American contemporary culture. His detractors say that he sees persecution everywhere, that he is vigilant in "Keeping faith with the certainty of Jewish travail"; his less severe critics might cavil about his portrayal of Jewish mothers and his sexual obsession, but generally give him good marks, and his fans read every word he writes and heap honors upon him. This novel will engage and satisfy every camp.
"Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear. Of course, no childhood is without its terrors, yet I wonder if I would have been a less frightened boy if Lindbergh hadn't been president or if I hadn't been the offspring of Jews." This is the opening paragraph of the book, which sets the stage and tone for all that follows. Fear is palpable throughout; fear of things both real and imagined. A central event of the novel is the relocation effort made through the Office of American Absorption, a government program whereby Jews would be placed, family by family, across the nation, thereby breaking up their neighborhoods--ghettos--and removing them from each other and from any kind of ethnic solidarity. The impact this edict has on Philip and all around him is horrific and life-changing. Throughout the novel, Roth interweaves historical names such as Walter Winchell, who tries to run against Lindbergh. The twist at the end is more than surprising--it is positively ingenious.
Roth has written a magnificent novel, arguably his best work in a long time. It is tempting to equate his scenario with current events, but resist, resist. Of course it is a cautionary tale, but, beyond that, it is a contribution to American letters by a man working at the top of his powers. --Valerie Ryan
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
The plot against America, part 2:
I love the implication that Republicans are nazi. I can't wait for "The Plot Against America, part 2" This is the one where FDR wins the election and vulnerable Individuals or as Stalin called them, "useful idiots" start to drag our country slowly toward Marxism. Oh wait, this is really happening.
it can happen here:
Reading this book, I became the child I was in the 1950s, Black not Jewish, but aware of the example of what Hitler did, and fearful that it could happen again and in the United States. I read this book in a fever in two days, pushing aside work and literary obligations. Roth lives this. Roth presents us not only with the political science fiction, but an engaging protagonist who is coming into his teenage years trying to define himself in competition and love with his family, brother, mother, father,... more info
Great . . . up until the end:
I bought this after hearing an interview with the author on NPR. I really liked it. Being a history-nerd, I was intrigued by the alternative-history aspect of Charles Lindbergh being president but that wasn't really the main point of the book. TPAM is a deeper look into fear and prejudice, and how disasters can creep up on you one step at a time. As the main character and his family (who are lower-middle class Jews living in New Jersey) experience this rising tide of anti-Semitism I had to wonder: is... more info
Gripping but disappointing ending:
This a very good novel with a very disappointing ending. I have no problem with the way Roth sets the novel up, using his own childhood and family as the main setting and characters. It makes the fictional elements seem real and historical to have them recounted through the memories of a child who was around 7 to 9 years old when the supposed events were occurring. As events unfold, the rise of Lindbergh, the gradually increasing pressure on Jewish-Americans, the sense of menace threatening his family,... more info
