There are some books that inspire a good deal of reflection, books that I am eager to write about and find that I have thoughts that I want to share. For a subset of these books, I also have ideas for more in-depth, academic-y papers in addition to these breezy blog reflections; I want to discuss their symbolism or explore them in relation to another work or larger theme/issue/genre.
Operation Shylock is not one of those books. I really have nothing to say about this novel. Philip Roth does very little for me. Don't get me wrong, he is clearly an excellent writer, and I can appreciate the prose and the craft. He has forceful ideas that drive his novels, and they explore intricate and complex issues. But they just don't do anything for me.
Moreover, Operation Shylock is one of those books that makes me feel sort of insane, rather like that Beckett trilogy I read ages ago. Whenever I try to explain this story to someone, I start off by telling them that it's really weird. Then I explain that it's about this guy who finds out that someone is impersonating him to extol this sort of reverse diaspora, this movement for the Jews in Israel to return to Europe. Then the person looks and me and is like, that's not that weird, because I actually make the story sound like it makes more sense that it does. Please take my word for it: this book is trippy.
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