Mickey Sabbath (modeled after American Jewish painter R.B. Kitaj[2]) is an unproductive, out-of-work, former puppeteer with a strong affinity for prostitutes, adultery, and the casual sexual encounter. Sabbath takes great pleasure in his status as the prototypical "dirty old man." He takes an equal pleasure in manipulating the people around him, primarily women—in a sense, they play the same role as his puppets. The loss of a decades-long wingman—the equally depraved Drenka—precipitates a crisis in a life he has long considered an utter failure. Sabbath wonders whether he should simply take his own life, thereby heeding the advice of the ghost of his departed mother, a frequent visitor who urges suicide as the fitting end for his failed life.
Receptionedit
Literary critic Harold Bloom has declared Sabbath's Theater Roth's "masterwork."[3] Prominent literary critic James Wood told The Morning News, "I am a great fan of Sabbath’s Theater, it was an extraordinary book."[4]New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani found it hard to finish and "distasteful and disingenuous".[5]
After Roth's passing, the New York Times asked several prominent authors to name their favorite Roth book. Claire Messud picked Sabbath's Theater, writing: "The novel, outrageous when it was first published is all but inconceivable today; which is part of what makes it literarily important. Roth fearlessly embraces the ugliness of the aging degenerate, with Dostoevskian zeal. He manages to do so with such wit and in such pyrotechnic prose that this reader, at least, doesn’t hurl the book across the room."[7]
Referencesedit
^ ab"National Book Awards – 1995" National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-27. (With essay by Ed Porter from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.)
^Nesvisky, Matt (November 8, 2007). "In-Your-Face Outsider". Jerusalem Post.[permanent dead link]
^Bloom, Harold (2003). Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds. New York: Warner Books. p. 207.
sabbath, theater, novel, philip, roth, about, exploits, year, mickey, sabbath, 1995, national, book, award, fiction, cover, detail, sailor, girl, 1925, german, painter, otto, front, cover, first, editionauthorphilip, rothcover, artistotto, sailor, girl, 1925co. Sabbath s Theater is a novel by Philip Roth about the exploits of 64 year old Mickey Sabbath It won the 1995 U S National Book Award for Fiction 1 The cover is a detail of Sailor and Girl 1925 by German painter Otto Dix Front cover of the first editionAuthorPhilip RothCover artistOtto Dix Sailor and girl 1925CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishPublisherHoughton MifflinPublication date1995Pages451ISBN0 395 73982 9OCLC31970961Summary and themes editMickey Sabbath modeled after American Jewish painter R B Kitaj 2 is an unproductive out of work former puppeteer with a strong affinity for prostitutes adultery and the casual sexual encounter Sabbath takes great pleasure in his status as the prototypical dirty old man He takes an equal pleasure in manipulating the people around him primarily women in a sense they play the same role as his puppets The loss of a decades long wingman the equally depraved Drenka precipitates a crisis in a life he has long considered an utter failure Sabbath wonders whether he should simply take his own life thereby heeding the advice of the ghost of his departed mother a frequent visitor who urges suicide as the fitting end for his failed life Reception editLiterary critic Harold Bloom has declared Sabbath s Theater Roth s masterwork 3 Prominent literary critic James Wood told The Morning News I am a great fan of Sabbath s Theater it was an extraordinary book 4 New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani found it hard to finish and distasteful and disingenuous 5 It won the National Book Award for fiction 1 thirty five years after Roth s debut novel Goodbye Columbus won the same award 1960 It was also a finalist for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize 6 After Roth s passing the New York Times asked several prominent authors to name their favorite Roth book Claire Messud picked Sabbath s Theater writing The novel outrageous when it was first published is all but inconceivable today which is part of what makes it literarily important Roth fearlessly embraces the ugliness of the aging degenerate with Dostoevskian zeal He manages to do so with such wit and in such pyrotechnic prose that this reader at least doesn t hurl the book across the room 7 References edit a b National Book Awards 1995 National Book Foundation Retrieved 2012 03 27 With essay by Ed Porter from the Awards 60 year anniversary blog Nesvisky Matt November 8 2007 In Your Face Outsider Jerusalem Post permanent dead link Bloom Harold 2003 Genius A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds New York Warner Books p 207 Birnbaum Robert July 13 2004 James Wood by Robert Birnbaum Morning News permanent dead link Kakutani Michiko August 22 1995 Mickey Sabbath You re No Portnoy New York Times Fiction The Pulitzer Prize Retrieved 14 January 2014 Beckerman Gal 25 May 2018 What is Philip Roth s Best Book The New York Times https m jpost com Jerusalem Report In YourFace OutsiderAwards Preceded byA Frolic of His OwnWilliam Gaddis National Book Award for Fiction1995 Succeeded byShip Fever and Other storiesAndrea Barrett nbsp This article about a 1990s novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sabbath 27s Theater amp oldid 1175191202, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
