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Philip Roth Unbound
The most celebrated American author is at the height of his powers in his latest novel, The Humbling. In a rare video interview—his only for this book—Philip Roth sits down with Tina Brown for The Daily Beast's new Web series, The Beast Bar, to talk about writing, mortality, politics, and why he thinks the novel is a dying animal.
Roth on Writing and Rewriting
The Humbling tells the story of famous actor who’s suddenly unable to act; the story is driven by the book’s first line: “He’d lost his magic.” Roth describes how, even at this stage of his career, he fears for the loss of ideas. "When I finish a book, I think What will I do? Where will I get an idea?," Roth says. "A kind of low-level panic sets in."
The Art of Writing About Sex
Sex plays no less a critical role in The Humbling than in many of Roth’s other works, though there’s a scene more graphic and striking than in any of his recent books. “You’re not setting out to arouse anybody,” Roth says of writing sex scenes. “You don’t want to fall into clichés.”
Roth: Will the Kindle Save the Novel? Not Really
He’s devoted his life to creating novels, but he’s pessimistic about their future. “The book can’t compete with the screen,” Roth says, and the Kindle won’t change that. “It couldn’t compete beginning with the movie screen. It couldn’t compete with the television screen, and it can’t compete with the computer screen.”
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
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Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
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Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
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That was excellent! I'm a fan of TDB again! Great job, Tina. I look forward to hanging out in your bar more often.
With respect to Roth, I beg to differ. The man makes a lot of assumptions that are just wrong: read a book in 2 weeks or you don't get its full effect? I'd say there are a number of authors whose prose is such a rich dessert that reading them in 2 weeks does not do them justice.
More importantly, Roth doesn't mention that all of the things that he says will kill the novel still have their basis in writing. Computers are text based. Videos, TV and movies all get their starts in text. In fact, when looking at Hollywood, how many ideas do they take from novels?
People read less because there are more options----but books will be popular into the future because they are our best way to develop rich and complex ideas.
While I agree with your disagreement to Roth's 2-week comment, I do not believe that he is saying text or writing will be dead in 25 years. But, rather, the novel as a writing form. The book as a static, physical object.
Make it a double.
Love her engaging interviewing skills going back to "Topic A."
Somebody sign her to another show.
What an absolute treat! Did I just eavesdrop on an intimate, softspoken conversation between Tina Brown and Philip Roth in a bar? I couldn't take my ears or eyes off either of them. This is absolutely historic footage. I real find, a true find - and a treasure. Thank you! I'm already thirsty for more...
This was a treat. Roth is one of, if not my actual favorite modern writer. Perhaps the screen will be kinder to short stories than to novels if his prediction proves right. (Surely this is Tina Brown's chance to lead the pack with a proper internet-based interview program...The Beast Bar indeed. I'm lovin' it.)
Hey, what's with the glasses of water! Or are they vodka?
Tina, he talks to you. If this is it for this go-round, please do more and soon. PR's a great get. Take advantage of his comfort with you and do something really cool - a much broader conversation. PR's prognosis for the novel is given verisimilitude by TDB's editorial choice to present your chat in three, song track timed, vidposts. He's talking not about a disinterest in text or narrative, per se. He's talking about our collective disinclination to focus - on the one screen, on the one whatever. You can give us at least an EP of you two, but chance it, give us an hour. Very good stuff.
Tina, interview Camille Paglia, please.
BipartisanCurious nailed it: to assimilate his/her ideas, I can't think of a better, richer source of imaginative material than the human imagination or treatment of reality by novelists...
Actually, after some irritation with Tina Brown over some fluffy and inconsequential writing I was impressed by her charming and substantive interviewing. She was instrumental in gleaning worthwhile information and rather charming too.
Tina--
Thanks for a great, insightful interview with a great American writer.
Ironic: TDB chooses to make piece lamenting the (current and future) decline of serious reading available only in video form. Where's the transcript???
Ms. Brown, I am as envious as I can be. Roth has long been my favorite writer and I am thrilled that he is so productive. The intensity and seriousness of the interview--on both your parts--was mezmorizing. As both a writer and an interviewer myself, this was magic. Thank you.
Does Roth read novels or is he strictly a novelist? I can't stop
reading them and find that after having completed a John Grisham work, I must go on to something that attempts to
explain questions of existence and purpose. Novels have
a place that is different from movies, computer screens,
and other media.
I don't have the words
Thank you.
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