💾 Archived View for bjornwestergard.com › notes › roth-plot-against-america.gmi captured on 2023-05-24 at 17:52:01. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-03-20)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"The Plot Against America" is a 2004 novel by Philip Roth. Spoilers to follow.
In its alternate history, Charles Lindbergh is elected president on the promise to keep the United States out of the Second World War. The story is told from the perspective of "Philip", a pre-teen Jewish boy in Newark, New Jersey. His family members decide how to react as their most basic expectations about American society and their role in it are upended. His father persists in denial until it is too late. His aunt marries the unctuous Rabbi Bengelsdorf, who collaborates with the regime and urges others to do so.
Most affecting for me was Alvin, a young man who volunteers to fight the Nazis in the Canadian military, loses his leg, and rapidly loses his way. He does the right thing, but as the story progresses, we increasingly question how high-minded his motives were.