WHAT WOULD PHILLIP ROTH DO?

Read the Book, Hear the Music, Join the Conversation 

My edgy, self-aware memoir What Would Philip Roth Do? tells the story of my move to New York City as a Jewish bluegrass musician and my fumbling, funny search for love—narrated in part by the sharp, imaginary voice of Philip Roth himself. 

To accompany the book, I’ve released two singles written during that era of my life and woven into the story.

Meet Matthew Check

Author and Musician

Matthew Check didn’t mean to write a memoir—it just happened. What started as a fun online writing class in 2014 gradually turned into a three-year project scribbled on lunch breaks and a trip to Bolivia to meet his editor. The result is "What Would Philip Roth Do?", an edgy memoir about a Jewish bluegrass musician’s move to New York City and his subsequent search for the perfect woman.

The title refers to Check’s imagined conversations with literary icon Philip Roth, who serves as an opinionated, often exasperated voice in his head throughout the book who weighs in on everything from disastrous dates, Jewish guilt, bluegrass music, and the elusive quest for meaning.

A Cincinnati-based singer/songwriter, Matthew’s career has followed an unexpected path. He’s released multiple albums of Jewish music, had two letters published in The New Yorker (his grandparents’ proudest moment), and even played banjo on the Emmy-nominated theme song for FX’s Justified.