Editors Reads Verdict
Roth's most extreme novel and, in some respects, his most honest one. The National Book Award winner is also the most likely to lose readers who find Sabbath unbearable — which is partly the point.
What We Loved
- The grief is genuine and total — Drenka's death haunts every page
- Roth's command of Sabbath's voice is extraordinary throughout
- The novel's willingness to follow its character into darkness without flinching is rare
Minor Drawbacks
- Sabbath is designed to be difficult to like — some readers cannot get past his treatment of women
- The novel's attitude toward sex and death will alienate readers looking for conventional moral comfort
Key Takeaways
- → Desire and grief are the same force expressed differently — Sabbath's obsessive pursuit of women is inseparable from his inability to accept loss
- → The obscene is not the opposite of the serious but can be its vehicle
- → Aging is not a gentle process and American culture's insistence that it be graceful is a form of dishonesty
| Author | Philip Roth |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Pages | 451 |
| Published | September 1, 1995 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Literary Fiction |
| Difficulty | Advanced |
| Best For | Roth readers who want his most extreme and uncompromising novel, and readers interested in how fiction can use transgression as a mode of seriousness. |
Mickey Sabbath
Mickey Sabbath is, by any conventional measure, a terrible person. At 64 he is fired from his teaching position after a phone-sex scandal involving a student. His mistress of thirteen years, Drenka Balich, has just died. His first wife disappeared thirty years ago. His second wife is in AA and beyond his reach. He is considering whether to kill himself.
Roth’s novel — which won the 1995 National Book Award — is Sabbath’s attempt to choose between death and continuing. The novel is structured as a series of grief-saturated memories, confrontations, and obsessive returns to Drenka’s grave, where Sabbath mourns her in the most physical terms he can manage. It is simultaneously comedy and elegy.
The Novel’s Challenge
Sabbath’s Theater asks the reader to spend 451 pages in intimate proximity to a character who is difficult, often repugnant, and occasionally sublime. The challenge is intentional. Roth has said that he wanted to write about a man who refuses all the consolations — moral, spiritual, social — that culture offers the aging and the grieving.
The novel divides readers more sharply than almost anything else in Roth’s bibliography. Some find it his masterpiece; others find Sabbath’s misogyny an obstacle that the novel never adequately addresses. Both readings are in good faith.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "Sabbath's Theater" about?
Mickey Sabbath is 64, a former puppeteer, recently fired, grieving his mistress of thirteen years who has died of cancer. He is considering suicide. The novel is his furious, obscene, grief-saturated attempt to make sense of a life spent in obsessive pursuit of women and pleasure — and the losses that have accumulated.
Who should read "Sabbath's Theater"?
Roth readers who want his most extreme and uncompromising novel, and readers interested in how fiction can use transgression as a mode of seriousness.
What are the key takeaways from "Sabbath's Theater"?
Desire and grief are the same force expressed differently — Sabbath's obsessive pursuit of women is inseparable from his inability to accept loss The obscene is not the opposite of the serious but can be its vehicle Aging is not a gentle process and American culture's insistence that it be graceful is a form of dishonesty
Is "Sabbath's Theater" worth reading?
Roth's most extreme novel and, in some respects, his most honest one. The National Book Award winner is also the most likely to lose readers who find Sabbath unbearable — which is partly the point.
Ready to Read Sabbath's Theater?
Check the current price on Amazon.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)Prices and availability are subject to change. See Amazon for current price.
Review last updated: