As a student in college, David Kepesh styles himself "a rake among scholars, a scholar among rakes." Little does he realize how prophetic this motto will be--or how damning. For as Philip Roth follows Kepesh from the domesticity of childhood into the vast wilderness of erotic possibility, from a m�nage � trois in London to the throes of loneliness in New York, he creates a supremely intelligent, affecting, and often hilarious novel about the dilemma of pleasure: where we seek it; why we flee it; and how we struggle to ...
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As a student in college, David Kepesh styles himself "a rake among scholars, a scholar among rakes." Little does he realize how prophetic this motto will be--or how damning. For as Philip Roth follows Kepesh from the domesticity of childhood into the vast wilderness of erotic possibility, from a m�nage � trois in London to the throes of loneliness in New York, he creates a supremely intelligent, affecting, and often hilarious novel about the dilemma of pleasure: where we seek it; why we flee it; and how we struggle to make a truce between dignity and desire. "Philip Roth is a great historian of modern eroticism. . . . [He] speaks of a sexuality that questions itself; it is still hedonism, but it is problematic, wounded, ironic hedonism. His is the uncommon union of confession and irony. Infinitely vulnerable in his sincerity and infinitely elusive in his irony." --Milan Kundera "A thoughtful . . . elegant novel. . . . A fine display of literary skills." -- The New York Times Book Review
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The Professor of Desire by Philip Roth is certainly worth the read. It continues to explore the sexuality that is developed in Portnoys Complaint but does so on a more intricate, complex and sophisticated level. In a word, more maturely in both style and substance. The novel moves quickly is full of comprehensive, yet not overindulgent character development and takes the reader on fine and fun ride through the narration of the novel. I highly recommend the novel to anyone just discovering Roth or wanting to go a bit further in their discover of him as a writer. An excellent novel dealing apltly with human sexuality and its many complex nuances.
