I hate satire.

Also, if you wrote a review that compares this book's contents to the Trump administration, you're an idiot. ( )

Philip Roth disecciona con hilarante y despiadada inteligencia la era Nixon y sus tejemanejes.El propósito de Roth en esta obra escrita en los años 70 (antes del escándalo Watergate) es ajustarle las cuentas a Nixon y a su corrupta administración. Y lo hace a través de una sátira política hilarante y desmadrada en la que podría hallarse un claro paralelismo con la actualidad. Así, los boyscouts se rebelan contra el presidente, existe un eje del mal que incluye a Jimmy Hendrix y Jane Fonda, e incluso una guerra sucia, que Nixon declarará al «gobierno pornográfico de Dinamarca» por apoyar la insurgencia…Esta novela humorística no se había vuelto a publicar en España desde 1983, pese a que su trasfondo es fácilmente extrapolable a la actualidad política de Estados Unidos.Se trata de un texto visionario en muchos sentidos: Roth se adelantó a los acontecimientos (el escándalo Watergate) al denunciar la corrupción imperante en el gobierno de Nixon.

I read this book as it began to sink in that Nixon was going to win re-election no matter how strongly I as a 15 year old high school sophomore felt. It had me positively rolling with laughter. ( )

This marvelous book chronicles the abuse of language. Readers familiar with Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," or with the liberal critique of Richard Nixon ("I don't think we can clearly nail Nixon as a liar," a Democrat congressional staffer once remarked, " although he undoubtedly is one in this instance, as in all others.") will laugh long and loud as "Tricky Dixon" employs every imaginable form of sly, slippery innuendo... against Boy Scouts, Denmark, and likely 1972 opponent"Teddy Charisma."

Nor is Roth's acid pen limited to savaging the Dixon administration. Television "journalists" ("Erect Severhead" is my favorite) are depicted as equally culpable for the debasement of communication and thus necessarily of democracy.

As another reviewer here put it, "it is easy to forget how damn funny Phillip Roth can be when he wants." And also how satire can be the most potent poltical weapon of all. ( )

Philip Roth is one of the great writers of his time. He has gained a mass audience while still retaining his credibility as a "serious" author, worthy of critical consideration. That's pretty hard to do.

This book, the first of Roth's that I read, showed me his reputation was well earned. The satire was over-the-top, but Roth knew just when to pull back a little to avoid it from diving into Marx Brothers territory. The characterizations of Nixon and his administration are dead on. I loved how the story gradually became more and more absurd until reaching a crescendo at the end.

What impressed me even more is that Roth wrote this book before Nixon's ouster. Reading it with that knowledge, one has to feel kind of spooked that so many things in this book actually turned out to be true.

With all that, this book still manages to be a light and funny read. I would recommend it to all. ( )