by Blake Bailey
First published 2025
Blake Bailey sits in his study, watching his career crumble in real time. His Philip Roth biography just debuted at number twelve on the New York Times bestseller list. Critics called it a narrative masterwork. Then the internet erupts with accusations about his personal life. Within days, publishers drop him and colleagues turn away. Blake calls his father Burck, a respected Oklahoma attorney who once served as president of the state bar association. The two men have weathered family tragedy before, including the drug addiction and suicide of Blake's brother Scott. Now they face a different kind of devastation as Blake's public humiliation spreads across news outlets worldwide. The scandal also taints the Roth biography itself, with readers questioning whether Blake showed too much sympathy for his subject's failings. Father and son discover how quickly success can transform into ruin, and how family bonds endure even when everything else falls apart.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, contemporary, biography-memoir, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fall-from-grace, family-bonds
Setting: New York, Oklahoma
Period: 21st-century
150 pages · Kindle Edition · Skyhorse
Content warnings: depression, suicide