An exploration of the life, with all its secrets and ambiguities, of a once respected, recently disgraced academic, this book is also a metaphor for American society in the 1990s. The point of view is complex; the whole book is narrated by a semi-autobiographical character, Nathan Zuckerman (who also appears in other Roth books), but incorporates several monologues, such as the frightening rantings of a war-damaged Vietnam vet. Despite the overall gloomy prognosis of the life and times of its hero, it ends on an uplifting note.