Speaking Volumes | My Spring Break with Philip Roth
At the end of 1995, I briefly dropped out of college. It was an unpleasant time, to say the least. I kept asking myself who I was and, foolishly, desired answers. When I returned to school six months later I thought it might be good to meet some different people. So for spring break 1997 I climbed into a truck with a bunch of new friends for an excursion to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Death Valley. Before we departed, a buddy gave me a paperback copy of Philip Roth’s 1986 book The Counterlife, the fifth of his nine “Zuckerman Novels.” I had read Roth before—admittedly only Goodbye Columbus and Portnoy’s Complaint—and was indifferent to his work. I didn’t see myself in those stories. I wasn’t “those Jews.” My only interest in Roth was observing how he irritated...