Philip Roth: The Plot Against America (Paperback, 2020, Vintage International)
Paperback, 391 pages
English language
Published Feb. 10, 2020 by Vintage International.
In an astonishing feat of narrative invention, our most ambitious novel- ist imagines an alternate version of American history. In 1940 Charles A. Lindberoh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected president. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti- Semitism.
For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threatens to destroy his small, safe corner of America—and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother. --back cover
I was enthralled by this chilling tale until the last two chapters. I didn’t like that the story essentially made this alternate timeline converge back with our own. I was much more interested in seeing the longer term ramifications of this excellent scenario. Alas, it ended with a whimper for me.
