"The Ghost Writer" by Philip Roth

I must confess - when I began reading this book, I was immediately taken aback from the depressive mood expressed through the character of the loner. Then, after awhile, the intensity of the emotions, the narrative style, the vivid and unmistakable human nature took charge and I was left with utmost admiration - admiration for the life the book took on and the life it gave me.

Like Patrimony, Ghost Writer delves deeper into the metamorphosis of human behavior over the course of a life time. Readers become aware (almost immediately) of the sadness of making the wrong choices, of getting sick, of dying. At the same time, reading in between the lines is a prerequisite for Mr. Roth. Take for example the wild affair the narrator has with the Scandinavian model. The force of words, the carefully constructed content of what transpired between those two is so powerful, that it almost certainly would arouse any reader.

I have really only one remark. Mr. Roth, you are one of my favorite writers and I thank you for taking the time to create such passionate and deeply moving literature as the one I found in Ghost Writer.

This book is highly recommended to all lovers of contemporary American literature.

-by Simon Cleveland