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My Life as a Man
Philip Roth Book Review

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Plot Summary of My Life as a Man
"MY LIFE AS A MAN is a book published by Philip Roth in 1974.

Peter Tarnopol is a very successful young writer trying to get rid of his psychotic wife Maureen by all the New-York legal ways. Condemned to pay high alimonies to her, he wants to describe their relationship in his second novel. He will be helped in his task by Dr. Spielvogel, a psychiatrist who's patiently hearing Peter's nightmarish souvenirs. Peter Tarnopol will discover, a little too late, that he can't adopt in everyday life the same behaviour and attitudes of the heroes of the great novels of Literature.

Ferociously misogynous. Highly recommended."

Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of My Life as a Man
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - humorous
Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance: - late discovery that lover does bad
Life of a profession: - writer
Inside culture (main char) - Jew
Family, struggle with Yes
Struggle with: - Wife
Outside culture (society) - American Northeast
If story of urban/rural... - Big city life
Job/Profession/Status story Yes
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental Yes
Eccentric: - obsessed - emotionally unstable
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - unemployed
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb: Yes
Eccentric: - obsessed - mentally ill
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a lot
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 2 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
City? Yes
City: - New York
Misc setting - resort/hotel

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - actual description of hetero sex
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to My Life as a Man
Heaven Help Us! by Herbert Tarr
Ten Thousand Lovers by Edeet Ravel
Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth
Swimming Toward The Ocean by Carole L. Glickfeld
The Barbarians are Coming by David Wong Louie


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