The Humbling
The Humbling by Philip Roth is a thought-provoking exploration of loss and identity, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2009. This first edition spans 140 pages and is presented in English. The narrative centers on Simon Axler, a once-celebrated American stage actor in his sixties, who grapples with the disintegration of his talent and confidence. As he confronts the reality of his fading career and personal life, he experiences a profound sense of emptiness and disconnection from his former self.
Readers will find a compelling account of Axler’s struggles as he navigates the complexities of his existence, marked by a haunting sense of failure and an unexpected erotic desire that complicates his already tumultuous life. Roth delves into themes of performance and the fragility of human identity, revealing how the roles we play can ultimately define or confine us. This edition invites readers to reflect on the nature of self and the often harsh realities of aging and loss, making it a significant addition to Roth’s body of work.
Official synopsis Publisher
Everything is over for Simon Axler, the protagonist of Philip Roth’s startling new book. One of the leading American stage actors of his generation, now in his sixties, he has lost his magic, his talent, and his assurance. His Falstaff and Peer Gynt and Vanya, all his great roles, “are melted into air, into thin air.” When he goes onstage he feels like a lunatic and looks like an idiot. His confidence in his powers has drained away; he imagines people laughing at him; he can no longer pretend to be someone else. “Something fundamental has vanished.” His wife has gone, his audience has left him, his agent can’t persuade him to make a comeback.
Into this shattering account of inexplicable and terrifying self-evacuation bursts a counterplot of unusual erotic desire, a consolation for a bereft life so risky and aberrant that it points not toward comfort and gratification but to a yet darker and more shocking end. In this long day’s journey into night, told with Roth’s inimitable urgency, bravura, and gravity, all the ways that we convince ourselves of our solidity, all our life’s performances–talent, love, sex, hope, energy, reputation–are stripped off.
The Humbling is Roth’s thirtieth book.
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