Philip Roth’s Deception (1990) challenges traditional novelistic structures by presenting a narrative composed entirely of disembodied voices, stripped of conventional descriptions or transitional exposition. This essay argues that the novel’s structural and thematic indeterminacy creates a “spectral architecture” that haunts the reader through the presence of unstable textual references and the unsettling absence of clear narrative anchorage. The analysis focuses on two primary pillars: the precarious interpretive spaces generated for the reader and the concealed hand of the author—the writer Philip—who governs the experience from behind the scenes.
The Spectral Architecture of 'Deception': How Roth's Novel Haunts Its Readers (and Itself)
Pia Masiero;Adriano Ardovino
2026-01-01
Abstract
Philip Roth’s Deception (1990) challenges traditional novelistic structures by presenting a narrative composed entirely of disembodied voices, stripped of conventional descriptions or transitional exposition. This essay argues that the novel’s structural and thematic indeterminacy creates a “spectral architecture” that haunts the reader through the presence of unstable textual references and the unsettling absence of clear narrative anchorage. The analysis focuses on two primary pillars: the precarious interpretive spaces generated for the reader and the concealed hand of the author—the writer Philip—who governs the experience from behind the scenes.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
