1. The last 25 years of Philip Roth's are depressing to contemplate. After a bitter divorce, Roth became unmoored: touchy, self-justifying, quick to break with old friends, prone to doomed relationships, eager to find a biographical vindication. His estate continues the folly.
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4. The Roth estate is continuing the folly: they are planning on destroying Roth manuscripts & papers (including 2 book length memoirs about Bloom & Ross) which only Bailey and a few others have seen.
@alex_shephard reports on the details here:https://newrepublic.com/article/162475/philip-roth-blake-bailey-documents-biography …Show this thread -
5. If the Roth estates goes ahead & destroys these manuscripts, they will tie Roth's name to Bailey forever (since he'll be the only source, albeit a refracted one, for Roth's views on these matters). That seems incredibly unwise.
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6. The paradox here is that the unauthorized biography Roth stonewalled by not allowing quotes (Ira Nadel) is actually much better for Roth's reputation than Bailey's book. Nadel wrote a literary biography about a writer, Bailey a re-litigation of private feuds.
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7. My friend
@ejessicajohnson did a podcast about the Roth scandal but also much more: about the need people have to control the narrative of their lives (and their relationships) & how that leads to disaster. It's a great discussion. Listen here:https://jeetheer.substack.com/p/podcast-philip-roth-control-freak …Show this thread
End of conversation
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Has any writer's reputation ever been improved by a biography? Are more people reading Hemingway?
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