Since I did not enjoy my first time reading Phillip Roth's The Human Stain, I can honestly say that I had no expectations whatsoever for my second outing with this author. That is why The Plot Against America proved to be such a delightful surprise. In this novel, Roth imagines an alternate history for America during World War II. In this frightening imagining, Republican, Isolationist candidate Charles A. Lindbergh defeats Franklin Roosevelt in the bid for the presidency. Under Lindbergh's administration, America is kept out of WWII and anti-semitism flourishes from coast to coast with Roth's family caught in the middle. Phillip Roth the author write about Phillip Roth the young boy which makes me wonder how many of the occurrences and characters are based on Roth's real life. This is an effective plot device that really involves the reader in the very dire circumstances that the main character is put in.
Ron Silver reads this audio book and although his differentiation between character voices is fair, he excels at the many soliloquies and political speeches Roth writes with such panache. This is one of the many reasons why I am such a rampant fan of audio books. They remind me of my parents reading to me at bedtime or my 6th grade teacher reading out loud to us such masterpieces as The Phantom Tollbooth and The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. There is a connection made during the reading that conveys what the author’s meaning is for the book. I urge you to read out loud and see for yourself how it changes your reading experience. In my life I have had the pleasure of co-reading books with several friends where we take turns reading to each other. It broadens the experience of the book. I believe this is also the reason that book clubs are so popular.
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