Authors · NYT Hardcover Fiction

Philip Roth

Charting Jul 8, 1962 → Oct 12, 2008 · 109 weeks with chart power

Peak Power: 12.42%; week of Aug 3, 1969
Career Power: 766; share-weeks
Weeks at #1: 14; weeks as the top author

Peak Year: 462; December 1968 – November 1969
Peak Five Years: 578; April 1967 – March 1972
Top-five weeks: 38; weeks ranked 1–5
Longevity: 109; weeks with chart power
Dominance: 14.53%; week of Mar 16, 1969
Comebacks: 4; August 1967, March 1969, February 1972, November 2004

Comebacks (thresholds from `config/scoring.json`)
Kind	Trough began	Returned	Trough weeks	Longest absence	Prior peak	Return share
After absence	Dec 9, 1962	Aug 20, 1967	241	238	2.64%	1.35%
After decline	Oct 22, 1967	Mar 2, 1969	71	70	2.64%	1.51%
After decline	Jan 25, 1970	Feb 13, 1972	107	95	12.42%	4.38%
After absence	Apr 16, 1972	Nov 14, 2004	1686	752	12.42%	4.41%

Ranked by weekly Power Share, part of the ChartReign Power model — not the list's own positions (config version 4, Sep 22, 2026). How it works →

Exponentially smoothed share of the week's total power (the primary metric).

Titles on the NYT Hardcover Fiction

12 books · 766 share-weeks of Career Power

Power contributed is what each book earned this author: their weekly Power Share, split across their books (a featured credit takes its reduced share). Book Power is the book's own figure, the same for every author on it. Bar length compares books within this list.

Title	Peak	Weeks	On chart	Power contributedPower	Book Power
Portnoy's Complaint	#1March 1969	40	February 1969 – November 1969	462.2	462.2
Our Gang	#6November 1971	18	November 1971 – March 1972	97.4	97.4
The Plot Against America	#2October 2004	16	October 2004 – February 2005	85.8	84.9
Letting Go	#9September 1962	11	July 1962 – September 1962	39.6	39.6
Everyman	#8May 2006	5	May 2006 – June 2006	20.4	20.4
When She Was Good	#8July 1967	4	July 1967 – August 1967	18.6	18.6
The Counterlife	#12January 1987	5	January 1987 – February 1987	14.6	14.2
The Ghost Writer	#11November 1979	3	November 1979 – November 1979	8.1	8.1
Deception	#13April 1990	3	April 1990 – April 1990	6.9	6.9
Indignation	#10October 2008	2	October 2008 – October 2008	6.6	6.6
Exit Ghost	#12October 2007	1	October 2007	3.2	3.2
Zuckerman Unbound	#15July 1981	1	July 1981	2.1	2.1