books:: philip roth, "everyman"

Who is everyman? Did Roth choose the title of his latest book, or did a smart editor dub the book's title?

In this case, our "everyman" is the Jewish son of a jewelry salesman in Elizabeth, NJ who is thrice divorced; chided by his first wife and their two sons; constantly forgiven by his daughter, Nancy, from his second marriage; and jealous of his brother's perfect health. He is a man guided by sexual instinct, an advertising director who retires to the Jersey Shore, a father sorry for leaving but offering no apology as his sons were too young and angry to understand then and now too old and angry. Just as every other man and woman must come to terms with their relationships, family dynamics, health and well-being, this "everyman" wrestles to understand his fate and those of his parents before him: that we must all die and our bodies fall apart. Old age is a massacre, he says.