Chapter 11 - The Late Novellas

Summary

The last four novels Roth composed prior to his retirement—which include Everyman, Indignation, The Humbling, and Nemesis have also been lately grouped together as “Nemeses.” The novels—more accurately deemed novellas, in sharp contrast to hefty tomes likes those collected as “The American Trilogy”—are not grouped together by a common protagonist, but rather by their notable brevity and by common theme: all four deal closely with the subject of mortality.This chapter offers an expanded discussion for the rationale of grouping these novels together (and, as with the other categorizations, the pitfalls of doing so), and will provide an overview of their critical reception and commentary on how they draw upon and depart from Roth’s earlier body of work.