Eleven members were in attendance for this discussion of The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. Philip Roth, born in 1933, passed away in 2018 at the age of 85, received a Pulitzer Prize for his 1997 novel American Pastoral.
One member said she liked the book, fell in love with the author, watching five of his movies that he has made from his books. She said HBO bought rights for this novel as a mini series, making six-episode adaptations of the book. Filming started in 2019, but could find no date alluding to when it will air. Another member said she liked the book, found it interesting and scary at the same time, and found it intriguing how young Philip interpreted what went on at that time. His writing was very descriptive and helped it come to life. "I appreciate historical fiction, he did this very well, he took a spin off reality and took it in a different direction. It could have happened."
We liked how Philip Roth wrote this as an adult with the view from his youth, using his families names with the story: Herman, his father, Bess, his mother and Sandy, his older brother. He even placed the story in the area where he grew up. Someone said they felt Bess was the heroine of the story, she held the family together, a very strong woman. She helped Seldon over the phone while he was in Kentucky, able to get him back home again by her husband and Sandy.
The story struck a chord with some saying that it is scary because of the government climate at this time. Someone had said they liked the book, but it felt like it has been written in the past few years.
We talked about Fear in the book. Fear invaded every Jewish household in the 1940's. Fear presided over these memories, a perpetual fear. It is all possible, we can all fear. The ghost in the basement was true fear for Phillip, along with his stamp collection with Hitler stamp. Philip's fear ended up sending Seldon and his mother to Kentucky, where Seldon's mother died, something Philip never imagined. Phillip's mother wanted to get out of their area, move to Canada, she feared what would happen. His Dad had faith, he wasn't going let Lindberg and his group bring this fear home, not going to make his family move. Through out the book, there was fear for humanity.
Philip, besides wanting to run away, also wanted to help solve problems. He helped Seldon, although he wasn't happy about it. He helped his cousin Alvin, with his leg bandaging. He went to his aunt to see if he can keep his family at home, not be sent to Kentucky.
Interestingly there was a parallel to the Hitler Youth Group, as they tried to spin everything as positive like the OAA (the Office of American Absorption), Homestead 42 and Just Folks. Someone said, "How fragile our democracy is, and how easy it can be eroded."
Philip's aunt Evelyn's husband, the Rabbi Bengelsdorf, believed everything, he thought he was out front, his people would follow, they would be safe. He was liked and accepted by important people, just look at the wedding. But he was gullible.
It really was a good discussion with many thoughts shared and talked about. There were many twists and turns in the book, characters adding to the dimension of the story, including Earl Axman, Walter Winchell, even Charles Lindberg, Anne Morrow and FDR.
