Girls, I Am With Carmine Callil On Philip Roth!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darlings, what a literary scandal. This week the Man Booker International Prize was awarded to a man who has won quite a few prizes already--Philip Roth. However, one member of the committee, Miss Callil, (I just love her name, loves; I can hear Katherine Hepburn saying "the calillies are in bloom")withdrew her name from the committee in protest of the award, saying that Roth goes on and on about the same thing in each one of his books.

Listen up, folks--HE DOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, it is not like I have NOT read Philip Roth. Let' see--
--Portnoy's Complaint
--Our Gang
--The Breast (at which point I swore off him for about twenty years)
--American Pastoral
--The Plot Against America
--Everyman
--Sabbath's Theater
--Operation Shylock

I also have "The Human Stain" sitting on one of my to-be-read piles. So, it's not like I have not read Philip Roth. And I may very well continue to read Philip Roth. And I have read what Claire Bloom, who was married to him, had to say about Philip Roth, and, honey, if you think living with yours is easy, try living with Philip Roth!!!!!!!

But I think Miss Callil has a point, because of the titles listed, only two--"American Pastoral" and "The Plot Against America" are worth reading. OK, maybe 'Portnoy' once, because everyone reads it at some point. But is it that great????? Not really.

There is no doubt Philip Roth can write. And some of his awards are deserved. But I think what Miss Callil was getting at was this idea that everytime Philip Roth does something--no, darlings, I am not getting gross here, I am just talking about when he writes a book--everyone falls on their knees and makes a fuss. I mean, if he wrote subway graffiti and published it as a book, it would get the same reaction.
All Miss Callil is saying is what I have been all along--COME ON!!!!! Philip Roth can write, but he is NOT the world's greatest!!!!! Just like Vanessa Redgrave, who CAN act, but world's greatest?????? We reserve that spot for MERYL, darlings!!!!!!!!!

Hey, all you sexist critics who get off on Roth's sexism, which I am SO tired of by now!!!!!!! You wanna take someone on????? As Gena Rowlands said in "Gloria"--
"Come on! COME ON! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!"

Salinger died, and literatrue has gone on. So it will with Philip Roth. And for the Jewish experience, girls, don't discount Chaim Potok!!!!!!!! Because his books have depth and insight, and are interested in lots more than an adolescent preoccupation with the "C" word. I would rather read him than Roth any day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take THAT, Philip!!!!!!!!!! And hats off to Miss Callil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!