Can I read The humbling on EtoBox?

The humbling by Philip Roth is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is The humbling about?

Everything is over for Simon Axler, the protagonist of Philip Roth's startling new book. One of the leading American stage actors of his generation, now in his 60s, he has lost his magic, his talent, and his assurance. His Falstaff and Peer Gynt and Vanya, all his great roles, "are melted into air, into thin air". When he goes on stage he feels like a lunatic and looks like an idiot. His confidence in his powers has drained away; he imagines people laughing at him; he can no longer pretend to be someone else. "Something fundamental has vanished." His wife has gone, his audience has left him, his agent can't persuade him to make a comeback. Into this shattering account of inexplicable and terrifying self-evacuation bursts a counterplot of unusual erotic desire, a consolation for the bereft life so risky and aberrant that it points not toward comfort and gratification but to a yet darker and more shocking end. In this long day's journey into night, told with Roth's inimitable urgency, bravura, and gravity, all the ways that we persuade ourselves of our solidity, all our life's performances - talent, love, sex, hope, energy, reputation - are stripped off. Following the dark meditation

Who reads The humbling?

Author

Philip Roth

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade

Published

2009

Language

EN

ISBN

9780547239699

Category

work of fiction

Subjects

Fiction, Literary Fiction

Rating

3.2 / 5 (3,560 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-13