Goodbye, Columbus

Summary

The title novella follows a summer romance between a Newark librarian and a wealthy suburban college student, and the surrounding stories examine assimilation, faith, and generational friction among postwar Jewish Americans. Roth's ear for argument, family talk, and class self-consciousness is already fully formed, sharpened by satire and a tender unease. The book announced a major new voice and set the template for much of his later work.