Patrimony

More about the book

Novelist Philip Roth watches as his self-disciplined, blunt, irascible, unrelenting father, famous for his vigor, his charm, and his repertoire of Newark recollections, does battle with the ignominy and helplessness of old age. The son, full of love, anxiety, and dread, accompanies his father through each fearful stage of his ordeal, disclosing the survivalist tenacity that distinguished his father's long, stubborn engagement with life.