Philip Roth's "Nemesis" revisits the panic of polio

By Nancy Harris

Few things in life are as disturbing as the untimely death of a child, except perhaps the untimely deaths of thousands of children.

Polio, a viral illness that we barely think about anymore, killed and maimed its young victims in unimaginable numbers in the first half of the 20th century. The worst outbreak in US history occurred in 1952, with 58,000 reported cases, which killed 3,145 children and left 21,269 with mild to severe paralysis.

Before Jonas Salk's announcement of the polio vaccine in 1955, epidemics were a regular event during the summer months in cities, fueling panic in the public, which had little understanding of how it spread.

Sarah Berman is a resident of Milton and a mother of two children ages 4 and 2. As a former educational consultant, she has always been keenly interested in reading about child and adolescent development.

With two toddlers, however, Berman says: "Now I lack the concentration to tackle professional material. So when I do find time to read, I prefer historical fiction, which combines both pleasure and new learning."

One book she highly recommends is Philip Roth?s 2010 novel, "Nemesis," a short work of historical fiction.

"Nemesis" revisits those horrible days when polio seemed to strike its young victims in a random and senseless way during the summer, leaving families desperate to flee the city as the temperatures soared.

Set in a Jewish neighborhood in Newark, N.J., in 1944, "Nemesis" tells the story of Bucky Cantor, a former high school athletic star who is now a physical education instructor fresh out of college. Poor eyesight prevented Cantor from enlisting in the military that summer, the peak of World War II, and he feels ashamed to be one of the few able-bodied young men left behind.

Cantor is brave and physically strong, but has to serve his community at home. While he feels useful directing the Weequahic playground summer program for the kids with absent older brothers and fathers, it does little to eliminate his shame.

As polio spreads through the city, neighborhood panic and finger-pointing quickly begin. Parents blame everything from the local restaurant serving kids "bad" hot dogs to "contamination" by poor ethnic groups.

In the midst of the chaos, Cantor begins to consider the possibility of joining his fiancee, who works at a prestigious camp in the Poconos. The prospect of fresh air, sparkling lakes, and working with his girlfriend for the rest of the summer becomes an alluring opportunity.

In a spasm of uncharacteristic cowardice, Cantor flees to the presumed safety of the Poconos. Yet his choice weighs heavily on his conscience. Plagued by decency and an unrelenting sense of duty, and too honest not to acknowledge his own fear, he makes another decision that will forever change his life and those he has touched, in a way that he never imagined.

As Berman says: "With polio, fear was really the second great nemesis. Yet, in this riveting novel, Roth tackles the subject with calm and sensitivity. He not only deftly portrays a character who struggles relentlessly to live up to his own high expectations, but he also vividly captures how the specter of death distorted the psyche and behavior of Americans forced to face the epidemic head on."

Berman adds that she was especially struck by the fact that in the summer of 1944, "there were really two battlefronts: the war being waged in Europe and the spread of polio here at home. At least in Europe, we knew who we were fighting and why, but with polio we did not understand the aggressor and had no idea who, or what, was to blame.

"And the terrible truth is that polio not only destroyed the lives of the ones it struck, but the final tragedy is that for men like Bucky Cantor, witnessing death repeatedly, the guilt of failing to live up to one?s own ideals in the face of danger, or merely surviving, can become as crippling as the polio itself," she said.

According to Berman, "Reading a haunting book like 'Nemesis' is certainly educational, but good books like Roth's novel also leave you pondering larger issues like fate, uncertainty, and conscience."

Nancy Harris can be reached at dr.nancy23@gmail.com.