Sabbath's Theater

SABBATH'S THEATER
by Philip Roth

 Award: National Book 1995

 Nomination: Pulitzer Finalist 1996

 Date Read: June 24, 2019

Here I go with another Philip Roth novel, having read American Pastoral and Nemesis. I already know this novel will be dense and uncomfortable but was unprepared for how perverse it would be as well. I’m somewhat shocked that this won the National Book Award. 

Sabbath is a disturbed man, having lost his lover and been left by his wife. He is traveling through his memories, looking for something to hold him together. Having read some critiques, I understand Roth intended for this to be received as a comic novel, yet it missed the mark here. Rather than comedy, I was repulsed by Sabbath, his proclivities and his vanity.

Some of the scenes here are difficult to swallow (yes, I’m fully aware of the artfulness of that word). One example: Readers are to believe that Sabbath picks up a hitchhiker (Christa) who just happens to be a lesbian stripper looking for an affair with an older woman. Or that two men, Sabbath being one of them, show up to masturbate on Drenka’s grave on exactly the same night. Seriously. 

Sabbath is a morally repugnant character that is motivated by his own selfish desires, even in the midst of others’ suffering. Some of the scenes are so awkward to read. Again, if I had to choose one word to associate with this novel, vanity would be it. The vanity Sabbath has for his own needs and desires is overwhelming. I always hold that writers tend to use their work to sift through their own emotions and I can’t help but wonder if Roth is working through his own vanity here. 

Regardless, Sabbath’s Theater was difficult to get through and while the writing is superb, as expected, the content was just not my jam. While I love the topic of sex, the scenes here were definitely written by a perverse man with little knowledge of the desires of women. 

 Looking Forward: American Pastoral, The Anatomy Lesson, The Counterlife, Everyman, The Ghost Writer, The Human Stain, My Life As A Man, Operation Shylock, The Plot Against America, The Professor Of Desire

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