Philip Roth

He is probably the best American author alive. His books form a real corpus, since they carry an inherent cohesion, and some common pathos. His view of middle class America has many points in common with other Jewish-American authors like John Updike and Saul Bellow. However, he goes beyond common interpretations by giving us just the right amount of neurosis and mind deviations. His characters are never too normal. But nobody is, after all. But most of us are lucky enough to walk away without been noticed. At the secrecy of our rooms we are not guilty at all. Roth´s people are usually living in a state of relative innocence, given their inability to be empathic. The world revolves around their selfish emotions. Maybe Sabath is the best example. He´s amoral, and his acts are not judged by his own inner conscience. Even his mistress is a burden to him, and will bring him to very awkward situations. At the end of his life, though, his final acts give the reader a sensation of the conclusion of a work. A depraved work.