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Title: eternal conflicts presented as poor literature
Review: I keep hoping that Roth would write a better novel. His characters are potentially interesting people and his themes are universal. We don't get a developed picture of the protaginist Coleman, a retired university professor, with an interesting past and many conflicts. He is typically a Roth Characer whose ego has problems dealing with his libido and conscience. He is always angry not able to find any internal integration. This is also true of the other characters who are very two dinensional and always predictible. They incluse his lover, his lawyer, his frustrated female detractor and others. I'm sorry about this as I can remember laughing with Portnoy many years ago. For me Roth is prolific, tells complicated stories but is a middle of the road author.
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