Quote #4

This indictment is a kind of fever that flares up from time to time. It flared up after 'Defender of the Faith,' again after 'Goodbye Columbus,' and understandably it went way up - to about 107 - after 'Portnoy's Complaint.' Now there's just a low-grade fever running, nothing to worry about.

More from Philip Roth

  1. To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that floats; Rice K…
  2. I write fiction and I'm told it's autobiography, I write autobiography and I'm told it's fiction, so since I'm so dim and they're so smart,…
  3. When you publish a book, it's the world's book. The world edits it.
  4. I cannot and do not live in the world of discretion, not as a writer, anyway. I would prefer to, I assure you - it would make life easier. …
  5. The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.
  6. Oh Patimkin! Fruit grew in their refrigerator and sporting goods dropped from their trees!
  7. ...her breasts swam towards me like two pink-nosed fish and she let me hold them.
  8. A Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die.

All Philip Roth quotes