Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Books: Short Notices: Jun. 9, 1967
WHEN SHE WAS GOOD by Philip Roth. 306 pages. Random House. $4.95.
Obtuse, self-pitying, domineering, obsessive, hypocritical, opinionated, exacting, intolerant, selfish, malevolent, deluded, manic—in fact, just about every pejorative word in the language could be applied to Lucy Nelson. She is a young woman who would try a reader's patience in a short story; in a lengthy novel she can scarcely be borne.
The real case against Lucy is not that she is "unsympathetic"—some of the greatest characters in fiction are—but that she is theatrically unsatisfying and an ear-jarring bore. Saddest of all, Philip Roth's...
Email, Password or Region is incorrect
A required form parameter was missing.
The System is currently down. Please try again in a few minutes.
Email Address is invalid
Password is blank
Most Popular »
- Your Turn, Canada: A Second-By-Second Look at Jeremy Lin Lighting Up Toronto
- Love Ever After: A Valentine’s Day Special
- Linsanity Heads East, Linfects China and Taiwan
- Can Jeremy Lin End The MSG/Time Warner Cable War?
- After Whitney Houston, Musicians Say: I'm Afraid
- Move Over, Pajama Jeans: Dress-Pant Sweatpants Have Arrived
- Music: White Lies and The White Stripes
- Top 10 Famous Love Letters
- Roving the Red Planet
- Rick Santorum Wants to Fight 'The Dangers Of Contraception'
- Europe's Deep Freeze: Why Climate Change Is Not (Entirely) to Blame
- Beirut: Where Valentine's Day Belongs to Another Kind of Saint
- Under Armour's Big Step Up
- What Happens When We Die?
- The Power of Make-Believe
- Archaeology in Jerusalem: Digging Up Trouble
- The Upside Of Being An Introvert (And Why Extroverts Are Overrated)
- Burning Desire For Freedom
- Friends With Benefits
- The Real Problem with Credit Cards: The Cardholders
More News from Our Partners
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
