POLITICAL COMPANION TO PHILIP ROTH.

Released in the "Political Companions to Great American Authors" series, this volume addresses a void in discussions of Roth's work by looking at his thinking on political matters, particularly as they involve identity, the American Jewish experience, Israel, and Cold War fears of communism. The 11 essays range widely over Roth's novels, but work from the second half of his career dominates the largely thematic treatments, which are buttressed by Roth's own comments in essays and interviews. Roth's remarks for a PEN Gala in 2013 open the volume; in them he reflects on his visits to Prague in the 1970s and his support of Czech dissident writers. As a New Deal liberal, Roth has been at odds with parts of the American Jewish community, particularly Zionists, but his work does display ambivalence, as the essays by Brett Ashley Kaplan on Sabbath's Theater and Louis Gordon on Roth and Zionism suggest. The essays are generally strong, but their value will depend on the reader's familiarity with the particular novels discussed. A good selected bibliography and fulsome notes for the essays themselves are very helpful. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Brian Diemert, Brescia University College