The dismal account of actress Claire Bloom"s life with author Philip Roth. Bloom, once described by Gore Vidal as, " ... the most beautiful of postwar screen presences and the finest interpreter of Ibsen in this generation," writes that she was entranced by Roth during their first meeting in 1966. A decade later they moved in together, and she was his muse during the late 70s and early 80s. But Roth"s abusive temper and bouts with depression made life nearly intolerable. Even so, they married in 1990, only to divorce a short time later. Though Bloom recounts Roth"s violence and betrayal in frightening detail, she never explains why she couldn"t muster the strength to simply leave him.