Philip Roth, Goodbye, Columbus

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With the publication of

Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories

in May 1959, twenty-six-year-old Philip Roth put himself on the literary map as an important writer of great social insight, a designation he has enlarged upon for more than five decades. Roth’s first major work gained admiring reviews from leading critics and won the National Book Award in 1960. The short novel

Goodbye, Columbus

, which describes the failed attempt of Neil Klugman, a product of the Jewish working class of urban Newark, to enter the world of newly wealthy suburban Jews and win the “king’s daughter” Brenda Patimkin, has become an American classic.

On one level, Neil’s pursuit of Brenda—a beautiful and athletic Radcliffe undergraduate whose father owns Patimkin Kitchen and Bathroom Sinks—is an

2001 words

Citation: Chura, Patrick. "Goodbye, Columbus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 November 2008; last revised 02 August 2010. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4913, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4913 Goodbye, Columbus 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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