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I found this a frustrating book but years later, I find myself thinking about it so often that I know, in the end, it was very good.

Frustrating because you don't know what's "real". How much of the Swde's story is being "made up"? Is this all in his head? But of course, this is a work of fiction, so isn't it all in your Roth's head and so why should one care? You want the reality of the situation within the fictional world he created. Roth complicates this by adding events which really happened (the explosion in Greenish Village)

Also frustrating because the Swede is so damned passive. Why doesn't he beat the hell out of the man having his wife? Why the show of calm? He has been humilated in every way, he is in tremendous pain but can't show it at all. makes one think of Joe Dimaggio and his calm demeanor. A role model or not?

Combining the two thoughts above, what does this tell us about the speaker? Perhaps he is making this all up because of his own faults and weaknesses. Maybe he can't stand the idea of the Swede really being as perfect as he appears. A desire to destroy his hero?

Who besides me wants to kill that awful daughter? Is it his fault? The mom's? Or can we not help who our children become?