An American Type Book

I suppose when a major author dies, there's always the hope that we'll find among his or her papers that undiscovered masterpiece to be posthumously published and enjoyed by all. So I can understand Willing Davidson's enthusiasm and excitement when he was handed the task of reading through Henry Roth's papers, to see if there was anything salvageable. And with the publication of An American Type, Davidson has done a fine job of demonstrating that there definitely was some wonderful writing there.

The problem with the book, it seems to me, is that it really never comes together as a novel - its many short (sometimes no more than a page or two) vignettes or incidents never provide the necessary weight and coherence a novel should deliver. It's a shame the work couldn't have been published as a collection of short pieces (or simply notes for a novel, as in the case of the recent volume of Nabokov's notes for the unpublished Laura), rather than being forced into a form that doesn't really suit it.

The book's main character, Ira, never really gained my full sympathy or interest. It's true that he has a distinct voice and outlook, and his adventures, sketchy and scattered though they may be, were at times compelling and maddening, and sometimes all too believable. But the constant focus on one character's thoughts and feelings and behavior became irritating after a while. Davidson says in his editor's afterword that Roth "couldn't leave anything out - he found all personal detail equally engrossing." And it shows. But the parts of the book I found most appealing were those brief moments when Roth turns his concentration away from Ira and gives other characters some space on stage - I would have welcomed a little more of that.

However, I ended up enjoying most of the book a great deal, and I'd certainly recommend it to other readers. Even with its failings, the novel is filled with some beautiful writing, and provides a fascinating glimpse of a very rough period in our history.

Note: This review refers to an advance reading copy of the novel, provided by the publisher, through the Early Reviewer Program at Library Thing.