American Pastoral

"American Pastoral" is a novel by Philip Roth, published in 1997. It tells the story of Seymour "Swede" Levov, a successful Jewish-American glove maker from Newark, whose idyllic life is shattered when his daughter becomes involved in radical political violence during the turbulent 1960s. The book explores themes of American identity, the illusion of the American Dream, and the complexities of family and societal expectations. Roth examines how personal and national crises intersect, revealing deeper truths about race, class, and culture in America. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1998.