Parodies of life.

To the Editors:

Years ago I read Goodbye, Columbus and thought it was a decent book, mercifully short, though not a really compelling story. In later years I tried several other Roth titles, but I never got beyond page fifty. I had no idea why. Brooke Allen's "Roth reconsidered" (October 2005) sheds some light on the matter.

The quotes from Roth's books all have the same quality: they are not life, but parodies of life. Portnoy's Complaint tries too hard to be funny. The scene between the dentist-father and his rebellious son plays itself out in a predictable way. The last line is entirely too pat. Except in comedy, it is hard to believe that a character engaged in a deeply felt familial relationship would be so cerebral. The quoted text segments confirm an impression I had when trying to read the books: a sense of life that conforms to an author's conception. Roth's rein on his characters is too tight. They are denied spontaneity.

Brooke Allen concludes with the hope that the Library of America will next canonize John Updike. If they do, they will entirely forfeit my respect. With Updike, I can't even make it to page twenty-five. Library of America would do well not to publish writers until they have been dead for at least twenty-five years. If the rule were firm, it would be a great service to writers: every last one of them would die hopeful.

Wilfrid Pomfrit

Staten Island, New York