Goodbye Columbus by Philip Roth is a sharp, witty, and poignant novella that marked the celebrated debut of one of America’s greatest literary voices. First published in 1959, this award-winning story centres on Neil Klugman, a working-class librarian from Newark, and Brenda Patimkin, a privileged college student from the affluent suburb of Short Hills. Over the course of one sweltering New Jersey summer, the pair navigate a romance that quickly becomes entangled in issues of class, identity, and the expectations of Jewish assimilation in mid-20th century America.
This perceptive social commentary, infused with Roth’s trademark humour and unflinching honesty, probes the tensions between old-world tradition and new-world ambition, capturing a community—and a generation—in flux. Beyond the central relationship, Goodbye Columbus deftly reflects on materialism, familial expectation, and the complexities of desire in a society obsessed with status and conformity.
Winner of the 1960 National Book Award, this novella remains a compelling read for those drawn to literary fiction that boldly interrogates personal and cultural identity.
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