One of the big struggles facing humankind throughout time is learning how to live life to the fullest in the face of a very threatening uncertainty. These two opposing forces define who we are within our mortal framework. We want to enjoy life yet know full well that that there are forces out there that seem to be conspiring against us: sickness, death, fear, prejudice and aging. This story begins in the latter years of WWII with a young Jewish man, Bucky Kantor, deciding to become a much-needed role model for young people in a small ethnic enclave of Newark, New Jersey. Since Kantor has been found unfit to serve his country in war, he has decided to become a physical education instructor and playground supervisor. Here, he will assist in building young people to form sound minds and strong bodies. Early in the novel, Kantor is portrayed as a very principled individual who cares enough to stand up for what he believes; this in spite of the fact that his parents have essentially abandoned him to the care of his maternal grandma. As the story progresses, the reader sees Kantor inserting himself into the lives of numerous playground children in very creative and inspiring ways. They feel comfortable with him and are prepared to follow his examples of hard work and straight-shooting. However, over this contented scene of spirited games and a growing passion for life hovers the inimical storm clouds of doubt, worry, sickness and fear. Newark is in the path of a major polio epidemic and there seems that nothing will stop it. Kantor, the rational and spiritual man that he is, doggedly holds to his commitment to hang in there as that tower of strength in the midst of social disintegration that is starting to mount. He has that deep inner belief that the virus cannot touch him as long as he is serving the greater cause: helping to maintain normalcy in the midst of raging chaos. While Kantor may have that inner sense that he is indispensable to a noble cause, the promising flower of youth around him is rapidly falling victim to this terrible disease. These natural assaults on his self-confidence do not seem to rattle him until the end when he finally discovers that he is no less vulnerable than the ones he has come to serve for the greater cause of humanity. It is at this critical moment that he discovers the awful and destructive truth that he is a greater victim than all those suffering around him. He now has both the knowledge of failing to save the people that he is responsible for and the guilt that goes with directly contributing to their deaths as well. Roth uses this nasty turn of events to raise some important metaphysical questions as to why a loving God would allow the actions of a good man to blow up in his face. Overall, an enormously well-written narrative with a lot of important things to say about those stubbornly imponderable issues of life. I would strongly advise the reader to take a serious look at "The Plague" as to how Camus views the same issue of why bad things seem to paradoxically happen to good people. "Nemesis" has a very poignant way of making the historical picture a very personal experience. As usual, he writes with power and finesse, and leaves one's emotions very raw and naked at the end.