American Pastoral by Philip Roth (1997)

American Pastoral is a novel set in the late 1960s, focusing on the life of a successful Jewish-American businessman, Seymour “Swede” Levov.

His idyllic life is disrupted when his daughter, Merry, becomes a revolutionary in the anti-Vietnam War movement and commits a bombing that kills a man.

Swede struggles with his daughter’s transformation and her descent into a world of disillusionment and despair.

He is also forced to confront his own failure to understand and connect with her, as well as his guilt over his inability to save her.

The novel is narrated by Nathan Zuckerman, a Roth alter-ego, who has been sent to investigate Swede's family history and is drawn into Swede's tragedy.

The novel examines the effects of the social upheaval of the late 1960s on the lives of ordinary people.

In addition, it explores themes of assimilation, identity, and the nature of family and relationships.

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