The very aspects of Operation Shylock that cause problems for the readers and prompt sharp critical reaction from the critical commentators quickly promote lively and stimulating discussions. In general, Roth channels the emotional and moral crises in the life of a Jewish American writer into two characters, both of whom bear his own name.

However, one is "real," the other a mad "imposter." Real Roth has just recovered from a Halcion-induced breakdown; imposter Roth, in Jerusalem, promotes a bizarre, perverse movement dedicated to returning Israeli Jews of European descent to their former homes in Europe. Real Roth rushes off to confront his clone.

Beneath the whirling, confusing flow of the narrative and the violent intensity of the arguments lie the paranoiac subterfuge of Middle East politics that fuses with characters' wrenching recollections of the Holocaust. The reader cannot escape the complexity of contemporary scenes and volatile...