American Pastoral

by Philip Roth

First published 1997

Swede Levov is a model citizen living the American Dream - prosperous businessman, devoted family man. But his perfect life comes undone when his daughter transforms into a violent revolutionary, bombing his factory and shattering his peaceful existence. As the country erupts in social upheaval, the Swede's once-idyllic world crumbles, and he must confront the forces of history that have overrun his private paradise.

Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, family-drama

Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: family-secrets, unreliable-narrator

Setting: Elizabeth, Newark, New Jersey, Old Rimrock, Princeton University, United States, Weequahic

Period: 1927, 1960-1980, 1961-1969, 1968, February

423 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Company

Content warnings: violence

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