The Great American Novel
Philip Roth's 1973 novel imagines the Ruppert Mundys, the worst team in the fictional Patriot League, losing their home field to the war effort and playing every game on the road while history, Communism, and public indifference conspire against them. The roster includes a one-armed outfielder, a communist catcher, and a sportswriter who understands that the league is doomed long before the owners do. Roth parodies the Great American Novel as a baseball epic, then parodies baseball as national myth. The jokes are dense, the pacing is deliberate, and the title is not serious.Knopf published it as a hardcover during Roth's most prolific decade. It is a cult item for readers who do not need plot to behave and who find something patriotic in failure.
