About this title: Against the backdrop of the Korean War, a young man faces life's unimagined chances and terrifying consequences. "Indignation" is at once a startling departure from the haunted narratives of old age and a powerful addition to Roth's investigations of the impact of American history on the life of the vulnerable individual.
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Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Date Published: 2008-09-05
ISBN-13:9780547054841ISBN:054705484X
Description: Very Good. Exact ISBN/item shown. EX-LIBRARY in very good condition with gentle use--possibly read only once. Mylar-protected DJ shows minor wear to mylar. Clean pages show light use. Tight binding. Usual library markings + cancelled marks. A very nice copy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Date Published: 2008-09-05
ISBN-13:9780547054841ISBN:054705484X
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. HARDCOVER. Very Good Condition. Binding tight, pages clean. Dust jacket bright and smooth. Nice copy! read more
Description: New. Orders placed after Dec. 7 cannot be guaranteed delivery before Christmas. GREAT BUY. Brand New From US Distributor. WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER with OVER 3, 500, 000 BOOKS SOLD. read more
Binding: Audio Book
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781423369721ISBN:1423369726
Description: New. New in the shrink wrap! Factory sealed. Publisher remainder mark over the barcode under the shrink wrap. NEW audio book on 5 CDs. Enjoy this unabridged audio performance! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780307388919ISBN:0307388913
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Date Published: 2008
Description: Fine/Fine. 0547054841 Bound in black boards with black cloth spine. Clean and tight, no markings. Appears unread. Jacket is not price-clipped. 233pp. read more
Description: Fine. No Jacket. First Edition (first printing). An Advance Reading Copy of the most recent novel by the author of PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT and THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, the story of a young man's sophomore education at an Ohio college when he tries to escape from his father--a hardworking neighborhood butcher who seems to have gone mad--set during the Korean War. Fine in wraps as issued. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780547054841ISBN:054705484X
Description: Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Price NOT clipped, DJ nicely in archival wraps. Stated first numberline printing. Minimal shelf wear. read more
"One thing for sure... .this is a very tight story, and consequently a fast read. "Smooth" might be a good word to describe it, owing in part to a myopic first person narrator. I found myself falling in and out of 'like' with Marcus, the protagonist. It is his indignation that we are exposed to ...
Marcus Messner is a good student, growing up in Newark where the family has kosher butcher shop. Marcus has a good relationship with his father and learns all there is to learn about the family business. Then his father starts to exhibit paranoia around his son's well being and future. It drives Marcus out of Newark to a college in Ohio, where this 'nice guy's' buttons get pushed. The story builds from there.
Curious as to what motivated this story, I listed to a short interview with Roth where he claims that the book started out with nothing but the time period: 1951 in the USA, the Korean War as a backdrop. The story grew from there.
It's a coming of age story in a time of war, it's certainly about indignation and ultimately consequences. Along the way: academics, religion, sex, intolerance. The other books I've read by Roth: The Plot Against America, and the Human Stain. This one is different. It's focus is narrower, it's shorter, and it is beautifully written. I enjoyed it."
"The force of this novel sneaks up on you as you are reading it. So many aspects to it: for someone my age, I know too much about the Viet Nam War, but, until this book, so little about The Korean War. Why should I have remotely expected that the war in Korea would have been any less savage than any other war? Because when it was being waged, I was young, in grade school and when reading about it in history books, it still had no meaning. Enter Philip Roth and this novel, Indignation. It is 1951 and the world is changing. An uneasiness and worry develops in the father of the main character. It is the beginning of our modern angst. It pervades the book and all its themes. When the boys at Winesburg College in Ohio go on a panty-raid rampage, the dean gives them a lecture afterward worthy the most patriotic zealot. How dare they go awry when soldiers are fighting in Korea against godless Communism. And our main character all the way through the book knows that if he screws up in college, he will wind up in Korea fighting the ruthless Chinese and North Koreans. The novel explores our history at a critical moment in time. It beautifully narrates the end of the post World War II security and optimism. It sets the stage for the ills that plague us today. It is a remarkable accounting and one that stays with me long after I've closed the book."
"This is my first Philip Roth book, lent to me by my boss who loved it. First of all, I would like to say that Roth's prose is refreshingly frank and largely metaphor-free, yay! Overall the book was very straightforward, expounding upon the theme "actions can have unintended consequences," which is not exactly a rare and groundbreaking idea in the world of fictional narratives. Nevertheless I had a good time reading it and somehow really sympathized with his honest, bewildered young character who (I don't know if I should be worried about this or not) kind of reminds me of myself at moments.
This book is the story of Mark Messner, hardworking butcher's son with limitless integrity, who finds himself grown up, going to a conservative college, and bemusedly confronting one affront to his dignity after another. It is told in the first person in light-footed, plain language. It's a quick read but not a lighthearted one, as it is set in a mid-century American landscape where religious prejudice, political intolerance, attempted suicide, student unrest, and the ever-present spectre of service in the Korean War hover. However the book does not delve into any one of those themes at length, for it is ultimately more interested in tracing the theme of indignation and its consequences for the very often indignant protagonist. I read this as both somewhat a satire and somewhat a cautionary tale, but the book is just dryly witty enough to avoid being just a lecture on "practicing tact." Overall, a pretty straightforward book, no real surprises-you can tell early on the entire book will just go downhill for Mark-but still gripping as we await what shockingly condescending nonsense will befall him next.
Hmm.. if I could give 3.5 stars, I would. This book wasn't a complete epiphany, and there are some bothersome gaps in character development and fluffy stereotyping, but it was really short and therefore I can't complain about having invested a big chunk of my life in it and not getting anything out of it. And he really is great at the smooth, unflowery prose that makes you feel all at home in the novel. Ah well, 4 it is."
"This was a well-written, easy to read book by a Pulitzer Prize winner. It's a coming of age story about an intolerant boy who runs from confrontation and is later driven a little bit mad by a blow job. It contains many memorable scenes, including a crushing public admonishment made by the college president to the entire male student body about how panty raids are contributing to the ruination of America.
This was an entertaining book, but coming of age stories really just aren't my thing. I've had enough adolescent embarrassments to last a lifetime and I feel no need to commiserate. Nor do I enjoy stories where I spend the duration wanting to grab the protagonist by the shoulders and shout, "DUDE! Chill."
I'm definitely not writing off Philip Roth though - I liked his style and laughed aloud more than once during this novel, so I'll be checking out more of his stuff later.
Oh yeah, this book is a bit depressing, by the way. I wouldn't read it unless I was planning on having a drink later."
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