Saul Bellow

[Mirabell]

We don't have a thread on him??

We have a thread on Seize the Day http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/showthread.php/14321-Saul-Bellow-Seize-the-Day?
and one on Dangling Man, though. http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/showthread.php/10830-Saul-Bellow-Dangling-Man?


aaaaaanyway. This month, the man's letters have been published. Here's a review by the always excellent Ms. Kakutani http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/books/09book.html?ref=books

Can't wait to get my hands on that un. (the book).

 

[miobrien]

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/04/death_disports_with_writers_mo.html

Interesting blog post by Ebert on Bellow and other writers.

 

[waalkwriter]

The books of his that I'm interested in reading are Humboldt's Gift and Henderson the Rain King.

 

[anchomal]

They are good choices, waalkwriter. I also remember really liking Herzog, and Seize the Day is probably my favourite of the Bellow stuff I've read.

 

[littératuresansfrontières]

I only read Ravelstein and I was not very impressed. The narrator (who is largely inspired by Below) praises an academic called Ravelstein (that is inspired by Allan Bloom, a friend of Below). Below calls Bloom

a very superior person, great-souled

. I personally had hard time finding the main character likable. He appeared to me more like a pretentious elitist, a money-spending machine with luxurious tastes....

The critics seem to be very positive about the book though. I am not sure if I have to give it another try or just read other Below books...

 

[e joseph]

I've so far read Herzog, Henderson the Rain King and Seize the Day. He's a writer always on my radar as someone I know I need to read more by. Maybe Augie March next? Of what I've read, Herzog is my favorite, and also the first of his works I read - perfect starting point.

 

[Mirabell]

herzog's IMO also his best novel. Humboldt, apart from the Schwartz-slander, is a fine achievement too. Oh, and read his stories!

 

[waalkwriter]

Herzog seems very boring, but then again I'm incredibly picky about plots.

 

[e joseph]

Herzog seems very boring, but then again I'm incredibly picky about plots.

Waalk, I'm in no way suggesting you read Herzog. You're one of the folks here I would feel very very incapable of recommending books to.

Mirabell, thanks for more shit to read. Was that sarcasm on my part? I don't know.

 

[waalkwriter]

Waalk, I'm in no way suggesting you read Herzog. You're one of the folks here I would feel very very incapable of recommending books to.

Mirabell, thanks for more shit to read. Was that sarcasm on my part? I don't know.

I'm not sure whether to be offended or flattered. I don't know. I think it's a matter of taste. I'm not all that interested in the personal crisis's of middle aged college professors. That says nothing about whether the work is good, just whether it interests me as a reader. That's why I think it's useless to try and force your way through these piles of literary works, and one should instead find themes that are close to your heart and pursue authors with these themes and styles. I am going to reserve judgment on Bellow until I have read Henderson the Rain King.

 

[e joseph]

I'm not sure whether to be offended or flattered. I don't know. I think it's a matter of taste.

Tis all I meant. I just know you and I have different tastes and wasn't suggesting that since I enjoyed Herzog, you would enjoy Herzog. Enjoy Henderson.

 

[redhead]

Thought I'd revive this thread. Can't let an opportunity to talk about my favorite author pass by! I've read a bunch of his books, mostly pre-Nobel, and the one that has stuck with me the most is The Adventures of Augie March. Any thoughts on that book?

From what I've read, I'd say his books go:

Augie March
Henderson
Herzog
Humbolt
Seize the Day
Dangling Man
The Victim

Seize the Day is probably the best place to start with him, because although it's pretty low on the list, that speaks more about the quality of his other books then StD. Plus, it's short. Really short. Something you should have no trouble reading in one sitting.

 

[Cleanthess]

Redheadshadz, agreed on Augie March as Bellow's best book. For me, the order of preference of the Bellows that I've read goes more like:

Augie March
Humboldt
Ravelstein
Seize the Day
Herzog
Henderson.

 

[Benny Profane]

 

[Ben Jackson]

Thought I'd revive this thread. Can't let an opportunity to talk about my favorite author pass by! I've read a bunch of his books, mostly pre-Nobel, and the one that has stuck with me the most is The Adventures of Augie March. Any thoughts on that book?

From what I've read, I'd say his books go:

Augie March
Henderson
Herzog
Humbolt
Seize the Day
Dangling Man
The Victim

Seize the Day is probably the best place to start with him, because although it's pretty low on the list, that speaks more about the quality of his other books then StD. Plus, it's short. Really short. Something you should have no trouble reading in one sitting.

Very interesting fact is that Below won the Nobel exactly two hundred years after America's independence. Writers like Roth and Updike wrote books that are very close to Bellow's, though Updike's different in that Updike's work is preoccupied with sex.

As for me, Herzog's my favourite work, followed by Augie and Seize the Day. Haven't read Humboldt and Henderson yet. A great writer no doubt.

 

[Liam]

The gov't has decided to put him on stamps, LOL. I had no idea he spent the end of his life in Brookline, MA, which is the next neighborhood over from Dorchester where I used to live! ?