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In the first novel to feature the famous alter-ego of Philip Roth, Nathan Zuckerman is
a budding writer. With only a few short stories under his belt, Zuckerman is about to meet
a man who inspired him to write:
"Before I had composure enough to notice the commanding, autocratic angle at which he
held his chin, or the regal, meticulous, rather dainty care he took to arrange his clothes
before sitting --- to notice anything, really, other than that I had miraculously made it
from my unliterary origins to here, to him --- my impression was that E. I. Lonoff looked
more like the local superintendent of schools than the region's most original storyteller
since Melville and Hawthorne."
Lonoff and his wife generously welcome Zuckerman into their home after being impressed by
several of Nathan's short stories. Struck nearly dumb with awe, Zuckerman walks over the
threshold into a world he believes is filled with wonder and imagination. What he's
looking for is advice from the sage, a fellow Jewish writer whose reputation and standing
is beyond reproach.
Lonoff tells him, "I turn sentences around. That's my life. I write a sentence and
then I turn it around. Then I look at it and I turn it around again. Then I have lunch.
Then I come back in and write another sentence."
Undeterred by the sheer simplicity of the master's method, Zuckerman is treated to an
afternoon of food and fascinating conversation, not to mention accolades on his own
writing. When he meets a young research assistant who is helping Lonoff
organize his papers, Zuckerman is love struck.
As day turns to evening and a snowstorm ensues, the Lonoff's offer Zuckerman a room for
the night. Zuckerman's thoughts return to the lovely research assistant and his mind takes
off on a flight of fancy that is both compelling and, to Zuckerman at least, nearly
believable. Who she is, or isn't, leads us down a path that Roth navigates with skill and
daring.
At the heart of THE GHOST WRITER is the dilemma of a young writer forced to confront the
real-life faces of those people who inspire his writing, the effect of his words on their
lives, and the role of a Jewish writer whose voice speaks for that disenfranchised group
of people.
--- Reviewed by Vern Wiessner
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