When you love a book, as I did "Portnoy's Complaint" and "The Ghost Writer" even more than Roth's later books, though I felt keenly attuned to "The Counterlife" too, you Remember the scenes vividly even if, as I am, you are aging and tend to be forgetful. Now, I read "The Dying Animal" only two months ago, not 25+ years ago, and I remember breasts, the cancer, the man's consciousness, but vaguely as lesser books are forgettable or become vague. Just writing this helps me clarify how to tell if you love a book and if you find it worthy: how much and how well can you conjure back, vividly. Here, not much. But with Roth, one has a large selection from which to choose. I'm a Rothophile, and do not expect genius each time out.