The Truth Hurts: The Ethics of Philip Roth’s “Autobiographical” Books

The essay provides a study of a period of Philip Roth’s career — from 1988 to 1993 — when he published four books that each contain, at least in part, non-fictional accounts of the author’s life. Many academic critics have seen in Roth’s entrance into non-fiction writing a postmodernist concern with the permeable borders between fact and fiction, whereas the contemporary response of the popular press painted the books as merely solipsistic exercises. In contrast, this essay argues that Roth’s forays into non-fiction contain an extended investigation into the ethical ramifications of writing. Through close readings of The Facts, Deception, Patrimony, and Operation Shylock, the essay finds that Roth’s introduction of his undisguised self into his books leads to, perhaps surprisingly, a heightened concern with the ways in which writing inevitably affects others