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Your early thoughts and impressions of Nemesis go here! 🌞 Please save spoilers for the "final conclusions" discussion.

I read this book in about one day. I was struck by Roth’s elegant use of language, even though the story is told by an ordinary guy who identifies himself relatively early on as a teen who survived polio. It’s the story of a PE teacher, summer recreation coordinator, and, ultimately, waterfront supervisor at an overnight camp, named Mr. Cantor. The story takes place as the polio epidemic ravages the US.

I was uncomfortable with the internal dialogue of the protagonist. Methinks he doth protest too much, as it were. While this is an excellent description of how polio affected the youth of the country and a good historical, albeit fictional, account of what it was like to be in the midst of this terrifying pandemic, I found the story flat because the characters felt flat to me. That said, however, I could not help but draw inferences to our current COVID-19 pandemic.

I have been purposely vague here because I didn’t want to include spoilers. And I’m still pondering the title; I know what nemesis means, but I wonder if the title is a double entendre.

All in all, a good selection for the moderator’s choice.

Susan wrote: "I read this book in about one day. I was struck by Roth’s elegant use of language, even though the story is told by an ordinary guy who identifies himself relatively early on as a teen who survived..."

Thanks for your review and taking the energy to write it, Susan. Sometimes I find energy is in short supply these days!