Philip Roth dies at 85; novelist both probed and skewered Jewish American culture

[Gerald]

Author Philip Roth, who tackled self-perception, sexual freedom, his own Jewish identity and the conflict between modern and traditional morals through novels that he once described as "hypothetical autobiographies," has died. He was 85.

Roth was one of America's preeminent 20th century novelists in a career that began in the 1950s and continued up until nearly the end of his life, resulting in more than 30 novels and short-story collections over seven decades. His work persistently blurred the lines between fiction and memoir, and often left readers both smitten and outraged, particularly in his portrayal of Jewish American life in stories drawn from his boyhood in the predominately Jewish Weequahic neighborhood of Newark, N.J.

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituar...522-story.html

A man before his time, with a great cultural contribution,RIP