Slate is running a Book Blitz discussing Phillip Roth's latest, The Plot Against America . For those unawares, the novel is an alternate history. In this version of America, Charles Lindbergh captures the presidency in 1940, defeating FDR with a mixture of isolationism, and Anti-Semitism. The story follows a young Jewish boy named, coincidentally, Phillip Roth, and his family as they struggle in Lindbergh’s New Order.
I’m reading this one myself. I’m about halfway through, and I can see most critics on this are correct: the book has an excellent premise, but only adequate execution. Still, it’s worth reading, and the ease with which the country moves toward fascism is chilling.
And yes, this story is supposed to be an allegory with modern times, right down to an obsession with big signs and flight suits
The idea that Lindberg would create an anti-Semitic government in the U.S. is silly and unworthy of Roth. It does, however, show that he
has returned to his Jewish roots, which he rejected completely in the first phase of his authorship. This new book shows the regrettable
paranoia that some Jews incline towards because
of the unhappy history of the Jews.It would be
better if Roth had directed his satiric energies
against current problems such as terrorism.