Everyman by Philip Roth

Everyman is the faux memoir of an un-named man who shares many of the signifiers of previous Roth antagonists. He is Jewish, aging, and has been married 3 times. He grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey with admirable parents--especially his hard-working father--and a much-loved older brother.

This time out, the beloved father is the owner/proprietor of a small jewelry store, called Everyman's. The much-loved older brother is a wealthy broker/trader named Howie. The antagonist is an artist, who spent his working life as an art director for an advertising agency, then began painting as a retirement gift to himself.

The memoir is told from the antagonist's graveside and takes form as a kind of medical outline of his life. Each time he is hospitalized (beginning with a childhood hernia operation), the antagonist describes his experience, digressing to talk about the people he knew at the time of the hospitalization. We also get glimpses of the antagonist's life through the eulogies delivered by his brother, daughter, and two sons at his graveside.

In outline, it doesn't sound like much, but Roth's voice, as ever, is compelling enough to make this brief novel one to be read in a gulp.