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Title: Not the great American novel...
Review: I thought that the premise of the book was fascinating but I could not help feeling that Roth wrote this novel with the goal of writing THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL. Well, sadly, it falls short. The characters are unlikeable and with the exception of Coleman Silk, not well defined. There are two characters who are introduced right at the end of the book and it's not clear to me why they appear in the story at all. Many of the characters are too lightly drawn. All that said, the book did have some positive qualities. Roth's description of how Coleman's secret evolved was masterful and very credible. I would have enjoyed the book much more had Roth focused his energies there. I found the Faunia/Les Farley story much less interesting or engaging. After all of the glowing reviews I had read, I was disappointed in The Human Stain.
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