So I was as surprised as anyone at how much I liked Nemesis . Maybe it’s because it’s short and concise, or because I’ve grown older and more of a neurotic Jew myself, or because the scourge of infectious disease is near and dear to my heart.
Nemesis begins in the summer of 1944 in New Jersey. Due to his bad eyesight, Buddy Cantor is overseeing a playground of children rather than fight in WWII. When polio begins ravaging the community, no one understands, and everyone is looking for something or someone to blame. Buddy becomes a hero to his playground boys when he stares down a group of Italian teenagers who are “spreadin’ polio.” It’s no surprise that the moment is Buddy’s finest hour, and everything goes downhill from there. As polio kills or maims the local youth, Buddy begins to question the goodness of God. “After all this time, it had suddenly occurred to Mr. Cantor that God wasn’t simply letting polio rampage through the Weequahic section but that twenty-three years back, God had also allowed his mother, only two years out of high school and younger than he was now, to die in childbirth.” This questioning of faith causes friction between Buddy and his fiancee Marcia, and ultimately leads Buddy down a terrible path of delusion. He’s his own worst enemy, and it’s easy to understand how his bitterness and isolation grows. Yet toward the end Roth makes it clear that there are those afflicted by tragedy who still lead happy and fulfilling lives, and that ultimately we are largely in charge of how we live our lives. While the novel has issues, namely that Buddy is never terribly likeable, Nemesis is worth reading.
Recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction or who want to try out Roth.
