The Plot Against America: Amazon.de: Philip Roth: Englische Bücher

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"What if" scenarios are often suspect. They are sometimes thinly veiled tales of the gospel according to the author, taking on the claustrophobic air of a personal fantasia that can't be shared. Such is not the case with Philip Roth's tour de force, The Plot Against America. It is a credible, fully-realized picture of what could happen anywhere, at any time, if the right people and circumstances come together.

The Plot Against America explores a wholly imagined thesis and sees it through to the end: Charles A. Lindbergh defeats FDR for the Presidency in 1940. Lindbergh, the "Lone Eagle," captured the country's imagination by his solo Atlantic crossing in 1927 in the monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis, then had the country's sympathy upon the kidnapping and murder of his young son. He was a true American hero: brave, modest, handsome, a patriot. According to some reliable sources, he was also a rabid isolationist, Nazi sympathizer, and a crypto-fascist. It is these latter attributes of Lindbergh that inform the novel.

The story is framed in Roth's own family history: the family flat in Weequahic, the neighbors, his parents, Bess and Herman, his brother, Sandy and seven-year-old Philip. Jewishness is always the scrim through which Roth examines American contemporary culture. His detractors say that he sees persecution everywhere, that he is vigilant in "Keeping faith with the certainty of Jewish travail"; his less severe critics might cavil about his portrayal of Jewish mothers and his sexual obsession, but generally give him good marks, and his fans read every word he writes and heap honors upon him. This novel will engage and satisfy every camp.

"Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear. Of course, no childhood is without its terrors, yet I wonder if I would have been a less frightened boy if Lindbergh hadn't been president or if I hadn't been the offspring of Jews." This is the opening paragraph of the book, which sets the stage and tone for all that follows. Fear is palpable throughout; fear of things both real and imagined. A central event of the novel is the relocation effort made through the Office of American Absorption, a government program whereby Jews would be placed, family by family, across the nation, thereby breaking up their neighborhoods--ghettos--and removing them from each other and from any kind of ethnic solidarity. The impact this edict has on Philip and all around him is horrific and life-changing. Throughout the novel, Roth interweaves historical names such as Walter Winchell, who tries to run against Lindbergh. The twist at the end is more than surprising--it is positively ingenious.

Roth has written a magnificent novel, arguably his best work in a long time. It is tempting to equate his scenario with current events, but resist, resist. Of course it is a cautionary tale, but, beyond that, it is a contribution to American letters by a man working at the top of his powers. --Valerie Ryan

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In his new novel, Roth steps boldly into the difficult realm of alternate history. As he has it, aviation hero Charles Lindbergh is nominated for president in 1940 on a peace-with-Hitler platform and wins handily over FDR--the majority of the electorate fearing that Roosevelt intends to propel the country into the war currently raging in Europe. Of course, a large segment of American Jewry is frightened at the advent of Lindbergh into the White House; his friendship with the fuhrer could easily include acceptance or even adoption of the German dictator's anti-Semitic policies. Roth brings this provocative national situation down to a personal level by drawing the reader into the lives of the young narrator--called Philip Roth--and his Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey. How the Lindbergh presidency divides the family, since each member must "determine the response sensible for a Jewish family to take," is the specific focus. In particular, Roth isolates young Philip's reaction when his immediate world is plunged into turmoil he both understands and doesn't quite understand. There are occasional breaches in the "what-if" conceit, from which escape faint whiffs of gimmick, but the overall effect of the novel is staggering. Roth has constructed a brilliantly telling and disturbing historical prism by which to refract the American psyche as it pertains to war--the central question always being, Do we protect humanity beyond our borders and see our soldiers come home in body bags? This magnificent novel is both appropriate to today's headlines and timeless for its undermining of the blind sentiment that "it can't happen here." Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Ein faschistisches Amerika in den 1940er Jahren? 25. Februar 2005

Von R.S. TOP 1000 REZENSENT

Format:Audio CD

Das Buch:
Die USA der 1940er Jahre. Der Wahlkongress der Republikaner endet mit dem Vorschlag Charles A. Lindbergh zum Präsidentschaftskandidaten zu machen. Der weltbekannte Flieger und Isolationist verspricht die USA aus dem zweiten Weltkrieg herauszuhalten und gewinnt die Wahl gegen Franklin D. Roosevelt in einem Erdrutschsieg. In der Folge macht er sein Wahlversprechen wahr und schließt mit den Achsenmächten Pakte. Dazu trifft er sich sowohl mit Hitler als auch mit Hirohito, mit denen er schließlich auch offen sympathisiert. Die USA haben sich den Frieden mit einer faschistischen Regierung erkauft. Ähnlich wie in Europa schlägt auch die Stimmung in den USA um, und es kommt zu Pogromen ähnlich der deutschen Reichskristallnacht.

Philip Roth erzählt diese Geschichte durch die Augen des vorpubertären Philip Roth, den jüngsten Sohn einer jüdischen Familie in Newark, NY. Wie wäre seine Familie gewesen, wie hätte sie sich entwickelt, wäre dieser Weg in der Geschichte eingeschlagen worden? In prachtvollen Worten, Sätzen und Absätzen erzählt er uns über seine Erlebnisse. Allerdings erzählt er nicht die Geschichte durch die Augen eines naiven Kindes, sondern Roth unterstellt, dass er heute - 60 Jahre nach den Ereignissen - die Historie nacherzählt. Es ist also eine Mischung aus kindlicher Berichterstattung und verarbeiteter Geschichte. Alles hypothetisch versteht sich - was wäre wenn? Der Kern der Erzählung (also ohne Vor- und Rückblicke) erstreckt sich über einen Zeitraum von ungefähr drei Jahren, er beginnt kurz vor der Wahl von Lindbergh zum Präsidenten und schließt mit seiner vorzeitig beendeten Amtszeit.

Sprachlich und stilistisch ragt das Werk deutlich aus der Menge heraus. Die Charaktere sind absolut glaubhaft und machen auch glaubhafte Entwicklungen durch. Besonders interessant ist die Beschreibung der Auswirkungen der traumatischen Ereignisse auf das Familienleben und den Umgang miteinander innerhalb Roths Familie.

Insgesamt legt Philip Roth ein wirklich gutes Werk vor. Besonders interessant erscheinen in diesem Zusammenhang aufgeworfene Fragen: Wie sehr hängt geschichtliche Entwicklung von relativen Kleinigkeiten ab? Wie fragil sind eine Gesellschaft und ihre Geschichte? Wie schnell schlagen spitzenpolitische Entwicklungen bis in das letzte Glied der Gesellschaft durch? Wie viel Schuld lastet auf dem Einzelnen? Ein Werk also, das unglaublich viele Fragen aufwirft und Stoff für unendliche Diskussion liefern kann. Die zentrale Frage lautet aber, wäre das wirklich möglich gewesen? Wenn man dieses Buch gelesen hat, wird man darauf wohl mit Ja antworten müssen. Die Darstellung ist absolut glaubhaft - und auch wenn über fiktive USA des vorigen Jahrhunderts geschrieben wird, so bietet das Buch doch auch politischen Zündstoff für das 21. Jahrhundert.

Das Hörbuch:
Die ungekürzte Hörbuchfassung wird von US-Schauspieler Ron Silver gelesen. Er beweist seine Vielfältigkeit indem er jeder der unterschiedlichen Personen in der direkten Rede eine eigene Stimme bzw. Art zu sprechen gibt. Für Ungeübte wird der verwendete Dialekt mancher dieser Stimmen wohl etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig sein, dennoch oder gerade deshalb kann man das Hörbuch als absolut gelungen bezeichnen.

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Absolutely wonderful....but not light reading! 11. Dezember 2004

Von Mark O'Neill

Format:Gebundene Ausgabe

This is my first introduction to Philip Roth's books and I definately wasn't disappointed. This book is wonderful and the man can sure write. Boy I wish I had his talent! But remember one thing - his writing isn't light and easy to read. Instead, it is full of heavily descriptive passages, Americana, and at times the story goes off in several different directions. If you can handle all that, then get this book and enjoy. If you prefer your books lighter and the action faster then this isn't for you.

The story itself is intriguing. What if in 1940, instead of giving Franklin D.Roosevelt his historic 3rd term as president, the American people voted in a right-wing pro-Nazi president instead? A president that vows to make peace with Hitler and vows to keep the US out of World War II? What if that president then starts Nazi policies in the US, including discrimination against the Jews? That is the basis for Roth's book and reading it put a chill down my spine because it could very easily have happened....

In the book the American people, terrified of another war, vote against Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election and instead vote for Charles A Lindbergh. Within days of Lindbergh's inauguration, a "treaty of understanding" has been signed with Nazi Germany, all aid has been broken off with Britain and France, and rumours abound that Lindbergh has struck a secret deal with Hitler to eliminate the American Jews. Roth's book is narrated through his own eyes as a boy, imagining events that could well have taken place. His father, seeing the victimisation around him due to Lindbergh policies, tries hard to stand up to the American Nazi Bund, as well as trying to hold onto his job and his sanity. His brother's son, who rebelled and ran off to Canada to join the commandos, is seriously wounded in France, losing a leg. He comes back to a Lindbergh America where his sacrifice is not appreciated and he is widely regarded as a traitor. We see Roth's aunt who becomes engaged to a Jewish Rabbi who betrays his Jewish counterparts by supporting Lindbergh. The Rabbi then recruits Roth's brother as a Lindbergh spokesman, which causes violent friction in an already strained family. Finally the boiling point - murders, pogroms, Nazi interference in US domestic policies, challenges to Lindbergh's presidency, a mentally unstable US vice-president and an ending that is totally unexpected and stunning.

If you have lots of time to read, and you appreciate good writing then get this book. Totally memorable and also totally chilling....because it came close to actually happening.