Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Philip Roth has died at the age of 85.
The author, who is known for his many classic works such as Portnoy’s Complaint, The Human Stain and The Plot Against America, passed away on Tuesday night.
According to the New York Times, Roth’s close friend, the writer Judith Thurman, has said that the cause of death was congestive heart failure.
Tributes have poured in for the writer, who won the Pulitez Prize for his 1997 novel America Pastoral. Roth was also awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama in 2010.
Fans and fellow writers alike have been sharing their love for Roth’s work on social media, including David Simon, the creator of The Wire:
Improbably, I had the honor of meeting Philip Roth just a few months ago to discuss an adaptation of Plot Against America. At 85, he was more precise and insightful, more intellectually adept and downright witty than most any person of any age. What a marvelous, rigorous mind.
— David Simon (@AoDespair) May 23, 2018
Kaddish for Philip Roth, the great American novelist of our postwar world.
— David Simon (@AoDespair) May 23, 2018
Philip Roth. I’m just grateful he was alive & wrote. Some of the most extraordinary experiences I’ve ever had happened inside his books. Writers like him don’t die, really. I wish he’d outlived this shitty era, though.
— Paul Duane (@MrPaulDuane) May 23, 2018
The Human Stain.
The Plot Against America.
Sabbath’s Theatre.
American Pastoral.
Just off the top of my head, four masterpieces that are as alive inside my head as when i read them, whose characters are as real to me as people I knew, possibly more so.— Paul Duane (@MrPaulDuane) May 23, 2018
Whoa, RIP Philip Roth. Portnoy’s Complaint re-organized my teen brain in both good ways and bad. But Sabbath’s Theater was my favorite.
— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) May 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/BlakeBaileyOn/status/999127578383409152
RIP Philip Roth. Never created an uncomplicated hero, and we wouldn't have had it any other way. Remarkable writer.
— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) May 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/Alex_Lily/status/999133104886419456
