Philip Roth's Next Novels

The Guardian gives us some details about two upcoming novels by Philip Roth. The Humbling, scheduled for release this fall, is the story of an ageing stage actor who has "lost his magic, his talent and his assurance." Roth's UK publishers calls The Humbling a "shattering account of inexplicable and terrifying self-evacuation. ... In this long day's journey into night ... all the ways that we persuade ourselves of our solidity, all our life's performances – talent, love, sex, hope, energy, reputation – are stripped off." The Humbling is just 112 pages, consistent with the trend set by Everyman, Exit Ghost, and Indignation.

The second novel, Nemesis, is promised to be a return to the historical fiction of The Plot Against America and will involve "a polio epidemic during the summer of 1944, and the effect it has on a Newark community." It's scheduled for publication sometime in 2010.