Ranked #81 in Academia, Ranked #90 in Americana — see more rankings.
It is 1998, the year in which America is whipped into a frenzy of prurience by the impeachment of a president, and in a small New England town an aging Classics professor, Coleman Silk, is forced to retire when his colleagues decree that he is a racist. The charge is a lie, but the real truth about Silk would astonish even his most virulent accuser.
Coleman Silk has a secret, one which has been kept for fifty years from his wife, his four children, his colleagues, and his friends, including the writer Nathan Zuckerman. It is Zuckerman who stumbles upon Silk's secret and sets out to... more
Coleman Silk has a secret, one which has been kept for fifty years from his wife, his four children, his colleagues, and his friends, including the writer Nathan Zuckerman. It is Zuckerman who stumbles upon Silk's secret and sets out to... more
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of The Human Stain (The American Trilogy, #3) from the world's leading experts.
Claire Fox The main focus of the novel is a professor of Classics and faculty dean called Coleman Silk. It is a liberal university, and the reason why I chose this novel is to show how doing things in the name of tolerance can lead to a right old mess. (Source)
Selina O'Grady The book is about the violence that you do to yourself, and to your identity, when you try and imitate the in-group, the majority. (Source)
Rankings by Category
The Human Stain (The American Trilogy, #3) is ranked in the following categories:
- #99 in Jewish