Philip Roth, Zuckerman Unbound

Dan O'Brien (University College Cork)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Tweet Report an Error

Zuckerman Unbound (1981) is Philip Roth’s ninth full-length novel and the second instalment of his first Zuckerman trilogy, succeeding The Ghost Writer (1979) and preceding The Anatomy Lesson (1983). The Ghost Writer tracks the artistic maturation of the young novelist Nathan Zuckerman (a character whose biography parallels that of Roth) as he attempts to reconcile his creative independence with his ostensible Jewish obligations. The novel is set in the 1950s, at a time when the Jewish-American community was still reeling from the implications of the Holocaust. As such, Zuckerman’s unadorned presentation of Jewish life in his short fiction angers many prominent members of his community – including his …

2593 words

Citation: O'Brien, Dan. "Zuckerman Unbound". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 January 2015 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8929, accessed 21 November 2024.]

8929 Zuckerman Unbound 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.