This Woman Wrote A Book That Seems To Be A Roman À Clef About An Affair With Philip Roth

Lisa Halliday won the Whiting Award for her first novel, in which an editorial assistant meets a famous writer on a bench. The writer is pretty clearly modeled on Roth. “The likeness is no accident. Ms. Halliday, 41, and Mr. Roth, 84, are good friends. And for a time, when she was in her 20s and working at the Wylie Agency, which represents him, they had a romantic relationship.” (Should any of this matter in the reception of the book?)