The Counterlife

The Counterlife (1986), a novel by Philip Roth, explores what happens when a man seizes the opportunity to reverse his fate by exploring alternative realities. The sixth installment in the Complete Nathan Zuckerman saga, the book received widespread critical praise upon its publication, and it won the 1987 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Roth was an acclaimed American novelist who wrote numerous bestselling books. In 2011, Roth won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for his lifetime achievement in fiction. He is best known for his fictional alter ego, Nathan Zuckerman.

Like Roth, the protagonist, Nathan Zuckerman, is a Jewish novelist. In the book, Roth uses Nathan to illustrate how fragmented our lives are. Nathan, like most people, has one face that he shows to the outside world, but this face is only part of his true self. Nathan shows people what he thinks they want to see.

Moreover, The Counterlife explores the idea that we often do things that contradict who we are as people. The book explores five different ways that the same scenario could play out depending on how Nathan chooses to react. In this sense, Nathan becomes intimately familiar with who he is and how he wants his fate to play out. However, Roth deliberately leaves it unclear which, if any, path Nathan chooses to take.



In the first section, “Basel,” Nathan writes an entry in his diary. He talks about Henry Zuckerman, his brother. Henry is a local dentist who suffers from a serious heart condition. If he doesn’t take his medication regularly, he will die. The problem is that the medicine causes impotence. Henry fancies his assistant, Wendy; he plans to sleep with her, so he can’t take his medicine.

One day, Henry finds out about a dangerous new surgical procedure on the market. If he survives the operation, he won’t need the tablets anymore. Nathan doesn’t want Henry to have the procedure because it’s too risky, and he doesn’t want to lose his brother. To Henry, who doesn’t want a life of impotency, the procedure is worth the risk.

Henry dies on the operating table. His wife, Carol, doesn’t know the real reason why he opted for the surgery. She thinks he was embarrassed by his impotency and missed having sex with her. Nathan doesn’t see the point in telling her the truth because it will only hurt her feelings.



In Part 2, “Judea,” Nathan explores an alternate reality. This time, Henry doesn’t die. Instead, he runs away to live with religious fanatics in Israel. Despite Carol’s pleas for him to return home, he settles into a cult lifestyle. Nathan travels to Israel and finds Henry living in this cult. The leader reminds Nathan of their father; he can see why Henry is drawn to the cult. He heads home without Henry.

“Aloft,” the third section, describes what happens when Nathan gets to the airport. Another Jewish man boards the plane with him and holds everyone hostage. He plans to blow up the plane. Nathan begs him to reconsider. When security officers board the plane, they think Nathan and the terrorist are working together. They arrest Nathan, bringing shame on the family.

There is a new take on Henry’s story in the fourth section, “Gloucestershire.” This time, Nathan suffers from the heart condition. He fancies his neighbor, Maria, and always flirts with her. Since the medicine makes him impotent, they don’t consummate their relationship. Nathan goes ahead with the operation and, just like Henry, he dies on the operating table.



Maria blames herself for his death because she feels she should have tried harder to stop him from signing up for surgery. While clearing out his apartment, she finds an unpublished manuscript. The manuscript idealizes her, showing how much Nathan loved her. Maria takes it to a publisher, thinking that it is the right thing to do. Henry goes crazy when he finds out about the novel. It paints him in a terrible light, and it makes the family look bad.

In Part 5, “Christendom,” another reality is introduced. Now, Nathan and Maria are married. He survives the operation and everything is going well. However, they move to England where Nathan meets Maria’s mother. She is very anti-Semitic, and she tells Maria to leave him. Maria follows her mother’s orders, sending Nathan home to America.

When Nathan arrives home, there is a letter waiting for him from Maria, complaining about how he portrayed her in a manuscript. She says the fictional Maria is nothing like the real woman; he fell in love with an idea. Nathan writes back, telling her that no one knows who they truly are, because how we react depends upon the circumstances. In another life, Maria loved the same manuscript and published it. Maria doesn’t want to hear this, and they never speak again.