''The Great American Novel'' is a novel by

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

, published in 1973.

Summary

The novel concerns the Patriot League, a fictional American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

league, and the national Communist conspiracy to eliminate its history because it has become a fully open communist organization.

Plot

The Port Ruppert Mundys of New Jersey lease their stadium to the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...

at the beginning of the 1943 season—to be used as a soldiers' embarkation point—which forces the athletes to play as the league's first permanent road team. The novel's narrator is "Word" Smith, a retired sports columnist who spends 1943 traveling with the Mundys.

Replacement-era players

Characters on the Mundys roster are parallels of actual replacement players from the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

era, such as one-armed outfielder Bud Parusha (

Pete Gray Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

Critical reception

In 2003, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' critic Bob Minzesheimer called the work "one of Roth's least known," and added,Bob Minzesheimer, "Philip Roth is in the bullpen with 'Novel,'" ''USA Today'', March 12, 2003. (Okrent is himself a fascinating figure; a ''New York Times'' editor and writer, the inventor of

Rotisserie League Baseball Fantasy baseball is a game in which the participants serve as owners and general managers of virtual baseball teams. The competitors select their rosters by participating in a draft in which all relevant Major League Baseball (MLB) players are avai ...

, and the journalistic discoverer of baseball statistician Bill James.)

Daniel Okrent Daniel Okrent (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of ''The New York Times'' newspaper, inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books (such as ...
once wrote that if "40 percent of ''The Great American Novel'' is out-of-control, the remainder is unmitigated triumph. Roth turned the screw of fantasy and myth one notch higher than others and ended up with a work far truer to the sport: He knew his target, loved it dearly, and knew as well what exaggerations it could withstand."
Roth, best known for ''
Portnoy's Complaint ''Portnoy's Complaint'' is a 1969 American novel by Philip Roth. Its success turned Roth into a major celebrity, sparking a storm of controversy over its explicit and candid treatment of sexuality, including detailed depictions of masturbation u ...
'' and '' American Pastoral'', won a life-achievement medal last fall at the
National Book Awards The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
. At the reception, I told him how much I enjoyed ''The Great American Novel'' nearly 30 years ago. He laughed and said it's usually the precocious teen sons of friends who tell him that. But he said no novel was more fun to write.

References

External links

"Philip Roth is in the bullpen with 'Novel'"
by

Bob Minzesheimer Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals * Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

, ''

'', March 13, 2003 1973 American novels Novels by Philip Roth Baseball novels Holt, Rinehart and Winston books Fiction set in 1943 Novels set in the 1940s {{1970s-novel-stub