Book Review: Everyman by Philip Roth

Date: January 30, 2008
Author: Philip Roth
Title: Everyman
Rating: 7/10

I bought it where: At Kramerbooks as an impulse buy. It has good reviews, it's short, and it's paperback.
Where I read it: Home, metro
This book made me feel: Old. It's about an older man looking back on his life, and the flashbacks have less vitality than the present day scenarios. However, the reader already knows from the beginning that the main character is dead.
Why I like it: Philip Roth wrote in some good people. The characters are one dimensional basically because the book is so short and there are quite a few supporting characters. So, the good are very good, and everyone else is average.
Why I don't like it: It hit too close to home. I'm aging, and I had medical issues. The medical procedures discussed I don't want in my future. Again, the characters were not developed. I guess that's not the point of the book. It must be to develop the steps right before dying?
The plot in 5 words: age/regret/family/death/alone

This book made me think of who: My 96-year-old grandma who recently sent to me 9 biscotti recipes handwritten in beautiful handwriting.
Memorable character: Howie
Memorable quote: Old age isn't a battle. Old age is a massacre.
Person I met while reading this book: Ageist fucks on a band website.
Something memorable that happened in my life during the time it took to read the book: I was thinking about my own age and health, and I didn't wan't to acknowledge the limitations. I still don't. We all die, sure, but I think we have control of our happiness. If someone presses upon us our limitations until we give them the chance to decide what are lives are, then we've lost some of the goodness that life has to offer.
If I could recommend this book to one person, it would be: A book club
How this book changed my life: It was definitely fate that I read it at this exact time. I didn't even know what it was about, just that it got good reviews on the back cover. This is a time when I have been forced to think about age. I'm almost 40, and I still have living to do, but maybe even I wonder, not just the ageist fucks.
Will I read it again: not likely

Notes: It's a short book with physically big words. It's a flash. the writing is quick and interesting, but there's no time for too much analysis. The reader is always almost done. Reviews remarked the tenderness, and there are some tender passages. They ground the book into everday life. It didn't inspire me to write probably because the author wasn't tender to the characters. They are not fully developed. I'm trying to think why it received such good reviews. It wasn't flawed. It could depress someone thinking about age, thinking about regrets. Do we only live to think of the past, and the best time to die is when no one could support our memories?