Everyman - Philip Roth
Philip Roth's Everyman is a profound book about the physical deterioration of a body and the accompanying hopelessness and helplessness that accompanies this experience. To make matters worse, the hero of the story - he remains nameless throughout the story, I assume he is the "everyman" - has desperately botched up his life with numerous affairs. Three marriages are ruined by his unchecked passions. Two children are alienated from him. His life is one of deep regret - regret made more intense by his hopelessness in the face of bodily deterioration. A convinced atheist, he doesn't even have religion to help him cope. Everyman suffers deep regrets, but remains unchanged in his passions. "But there's no remaking reality" is his life's slogan (78). Click HERE for my extended analysis of this provocative book!