Zuckerman Unbound

Following Roth's most acclaimed character, the meta-fictional Nathan Zuckerman, as his life falls apart around him, Zuckerman Unbound explores the dark edges of notoriety and art, and the shroud of heartbreak and hilarious irony that envelopes them. With the wild success of his racy and risqué novel, Carnovsky, Nathan Zuckerman has been catapulted into the world of literary prestige. But the limelight is not quite what he expected.

Fans imagine that he is as sexually depraved as his fictional creations, critics are disturbed by his departure from the sophisticated and literary style of his earlier works, and his entire family has turned on him, literally cursing him for betraying their privacy and making a mockery of the Jewish community.

But worse than everything else that has befallen him is his stalker, a frenetic ex-marine from New Jersey who claims that Zuckerman has stolen his life for material and is set on revenge, unless Zuckerman pens an account that is exactly to his liking.

“Zuckerman Unbound is masterful, sure in every touch, as clear and economical of line as a crystal vase.” —New York Times Book Review

“It is a) funny, b) sparkling prose, c) to-the-point short, d) genuinely moving.” —Financial Times

“It was bold of Roth to write a novel about being famous…a comic stroll in a hall of mirrors.” —Newsweek

“[Roth’s] narrative hand is wonderfully sure, his comic timing worthy of the Ritz Brothers…. Not since Henry Miller has anyone learned to be as funny and compassionate and brutal and plaintive in the space of a paragraph.” —Village Voice

“Zuckerman Unbound is masterful, sure in every touch, as clear and economical of line as a crystal vase.” —New York Times Book Review