American Pastoral is written from the point of view of Nathan Zuckerman, a Jewish boy who grew up during the World War II era in Newark, New Jersey. The novel, however, does not focus on Zuckerman's life so much as it centers around Seymour "Swede" Levov, another Jewish boy who became known as the best athlete their small high school had ever known. Zuckerman introduces himself about twenty pages into the novel, making it clear that he is a secondary character in the story against the almost godlike Swede.
Zuckerman idolizes Swede, not only because he is a phenomenal athlete but also because he is so different from the rest of his Jewish neighborhood. His success gives Zuckerman an inkling of hope that maybe one day, he will be able to undergo the transformation between a Jewish boy and the only vaguely Jewish, all-American Swede. His presence gives others hope that maybe one day, they would be able to assimilate almost seamlessly into the American mainstream just as he did.
As a boy who succeeded in sports, in the army and in his personal life as a husband and father, he is remarkably detached from the admiration he receives. Though he was practically a neighborhood celebrity, he seems practically indifferent to the adoration heaped upon him. There is an honesty about him that conflicts with his status as a town hero. It seems to Zuckerman that he is constantly fighting to stay above the narcissism that threatens to consume him. But this just makes him worthy of even more respect. Swede, the boy wonder, is also an honest to god good person.
The story begins as, almost sixty years after the war, Swede contacts Zuckerman and asks him if he would like to write a story about his late father. Zuckerman agrees, hoping to learn more about what is hiding behind Swede's cool and collected persona. Even though his life has seemed like a Hollywood movie, the way he described his father's life seems to belie some sort of trauma. Zuckerman accepts the job, hoping to get more insight into what makes his childhood hero tick.
