Jewish-American author Philip Roth has received the Legion d’honneur, France’s highest honor, during a ceremony last week in New York.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who was in the city to attend the annual UN General Assembly, presented Roth with the award of Commander of the Legion of Honor while praising the writer's ''huge success'' in France.
‘’It is given exceptionally to whom France is especially indebted,” Fabius said. “You have enlightened French readers with your art of storytelling.”
Fabius acknowledged Roth's ability to transcend traditional boundaries with his multi-faceted talent that often blends fiction with stark reality.
“This highest honor is a wonderful surprise, I am absolutely delighted” Roth said I,n accepting the award. He explained the long influence that France played in his life.
French was the first foreign language that he had studied. Though he never did master spoken French, French fiction played an important role in Roth’s life. He taught comparative literature for many years.
Since coming to the public’s attention in 1959 with his debut. “Goodbye, Columbus,” published when he was only 26-years-old, Roth has churned out close to thirty novels, including the smash hit “Portnoy’s Complaint.” He’s received nearly every major American literary award – including the Pulitzer Prize for his 1997 novel, American Pastoral –and was often cited as a contender for a Nobel Prize.