The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America" is an alternative history novel that deals with the United States, World War Two, and the fate of Jewish citizens in the United States. Not unlike Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here," Roth's 2005 novel is at times eerily prophetic. The novel begins from the premise that FDR did not win his bid for a third term as president of the Untied States. Instead, America First (sound familiar?) proponent Charles Lindbergh, the aviation hero and isolationist, is elected president. Lindbergh proceeds to align himself with Nazi Germany for reasons that will, possibly, become clear as the novel progresses. No spoilers here as all of the above appears in the book's description.

The tale is told through the eyes of a young child in New Jersey, none other than an alternate incarnation of Philip Roth. The author blends fact and fiction into a haunting tale of a child struggling to understand an adult world as it changes into something that no one can understand. The result is a page-turning novel that will hold the reader's attention to the very end.

I found reading "The Plot Against America" to be very much akin to reading "It Can't Happen Here." The short rebuttal for Lewis' title would be: Yes It Can. Substitute Putin for Hitler, Trump for Lindbergh, and suddenly the storyline of "The Plot Against America" becomes all too believable. And, if anyone is offended by that comparison, I make no apologies. If there are objections, feel free to write your own review.



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