Indignation (English)

Trying to escape his overbearing Jewish parents Marcus Messner flees his 1950s New Jersey home to attend college in Winesburg, Ohio, where he quickly becomes marked as one of the few Jews on campus. As the Korean War rages in the background, Marcus's moral upbringing undergoes a serious test in the form of Olivia, a psychologically troubled (and sexually experienced) girl. In INDIGNATION, Philip Roth switches from a contemplation of old age and impotence as in EXIT GHOST (2007) and returns to the themes of youthful angst and sexual craving that marked early work like PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT (1969) and GOODBYE, COLUMBUS (1959). Selected by the New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of 2008. minimize