Dmitry

=**The Plot Against America** =

About the Book[[image:http://www.sfsite.com/gra/0512/palg.jpg width="291" height="450" align="right" caption="International Cover of the Novel"]]
//The Plot Against America// is a captivating novel written by Philip Roth. Published in 2004, the award winning novel is set in 1940's New Jersey in an alternate history where the anti-Semitic Charles Lindbergh defeats Theodore Roosevelt in the presidential campaign. After Lindbergh is elected he promises peace with Nazi Germany but it is soon made clear that Lindbergh's supposed peace talks where a plan to eradicate the Jews from America.

About the Author
Philip Roth is an American novelist born on March 19th, 1933. He is a critically acclaimed and praised author that has one many awards for his intricate novels and short stories that range from the National Book Award to even the Pulitzer Prize. Some of his major work include one of his earliest novels //Goodbye, Columbus//, which was published in 1959. Another, //Portnoy's Company//, was published in 1969. One of his recent works includes the novel //The Human Stain//, which was published in 2001.

Critical Reputation
In the beginning of his writing career Roth went widely unnoticed. Many of his works were superb even in the beginning of his writing career. He continued his life in the shadow of popular writers until his book //Goodbye, Columbus// was reviewed by a critic and eventually spread like wildfire. His reputation soared immensely while his works were praised by many critics and has won many awards for his captivating novels. He continues to impress people around the world with his unique style to this day.

Characters
The main character portrayed in the novel are mostly part of Philip Roth's family. The protagonist and narrator in this novel is Philip Roth himself, who is a young boy at the age of 8 at the time. Other main characters include Herman and Bess Roth, father an mother to Philip respectively. Sandy Roth is Philip's brother, and cousin Alvin and Aunt Evelyn are also featured throughout the novel.

Conflict
The main conflict is based off the Roth family, a Jewish family, living in an alternate history of America. During this time Charles Lindbergh, and anti-Semite, trumps Theodore Roosevelt in the presidential elections and thus is elected president. Lindbergh promises peace talks with Nazi Germany, but his true incentive is to begin the eradication of Jews across America thought propaganda and discrimination. The Roth family, along with many other Jewish families, are caught in this war and must struggle to live through the oppression around them as America slowly turns its views against the Jewish similar to Nazi Germany.

Theme
Roth excellently shows how difficult it is to live in a land of oppression. He conveys the emotions of his protagonist in clear detail to show how a young boy as well as his family must suffer in a land they believed was home based only off their religion.

Personal Review
//The Plot Against America// is an intriguing novel authored by Philip Roth. With an interesting twist on history Roth demonstrates the suffering Jews had to undergo in the 1940's, only this time in America. He shows how a family can fight through the oppression surround them and survive in a land filled with hate and even death for their kind. I would highly recommend this book for anything that has an interest in reading alternate realities and especially during WWII.