A seriously stressed out Jewish guy in NY is deeply mulling over some extremely difficult ethical problems.

It seems that I once read that Bellow is highly popular with many English critics. The reason for this might be due to a certain Dickensian moral bent that he possesses.

Boy, that Allbee sure is a complete jerk. His actions and behavior are truly exasperating and make one wonder about his character.

The combination of the stressed Jewish guy grappling with ethical dilemmas and the mention of Bellow's popularity and Allbee's jerkiness creates an interesting and somewhat complex picture.

It makes one think about the various aspects of life, morality, and human nature that are being touched upon in this brief description.

Perhaps there is more to explore and understand about these characters and their situations.

Here is a book that delves into the summer of New York City without the comfort of air conditioning.

It weaves in a hint of guilt and paranoia, along with a liberal dose of anti-semitism, creating a stew that is not only squalid and dull but also a bit oppressive.

I found myself constantly waiting for something to occur, something that would shatter the prevailing malaise.

However, it never did, or when it seemingly did, nothing of consequence followed, if that makes any sense at all.

Bellow's writing is indeed very powerful, yet perhaps not quite strong enough to truly carry a book filled with vaguely unpleasant individuals who are not engaged in much of anything.

It leaves the reader with a sense of dissatisfaction and a longing for more substance and action within the narrative.

Despite the author's evident talent, the overall experience of reading this book is somewhat lackluster and fails to fully captivate the imagination.

One can't help but wonder if a different approach or a more engaging storyline could have transformed this into a more memorable and impactful work.

Nonetheless, it serves as a reminder that even with great writing skills, a book still needs a compelling plot and interesting characters to truly shine.

I found this to be more appealing than "Seize the Day", which usually receives high marks.

I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to read "Ravelstein" along with either "Herzog" or "Augie March" sometime during this year.

From there, I should be able to formulate my opinion of Bellow.

Based on what I have read thus far, I am not overly impressed, yet I remain intrigued.

Perhaps as I delve deeper into his works, I will gain a better understanding and appreciation of his writing style and themes.

I am excited to see how these upcoming readings will shape my perception of Bellow and his body of work.

It will be interesting to compare and contrast the different novels and see if there are any common threads or unique aspects that emerge.

I look forward to this literary journey and the insights it may bring.

Bellow is a genius.

I know this because I had an extremely intense reaction towards the main character of this book. I absolutely loathed the main character to the point where it was a visceral response.

It initially made me wonder if I hated the book itself. However, upon further reflection, I realized that Bellow's skill as an author was so great that he was able to make me despise a character to such an enormous extent that I was momentarily confused.

This is truly a mark of an excellent author. Bellow has the ability to create characters that evoke such strong emotions in the reader, blurring the line between hating the character and hating the book.

His writing is so powerful that it can make the reader experience a wide range of emotions, from intense hatred to moments of confusion and self-reflection.

It is clear that Bellow is a master of his craft, and his work will continue to be studied and admired for years to come.

Yet another literary plot which would've been nullified by the existence of air conditioning.

Bellow's muscular prose was as strident as ever. His vivid descriptions and powerful language brought the story to life in a unique way.

My wife read this a few years ago and pointed out how Edward Albee's Zoo Story has a similar plot device. In Bellow's novel, the antagonist is also named Allbee.

This similarity between the two works adds an interesting layer of comparison. It makes one wonder if there was some sort of influence or if it was just a coincidence.

Regardless, both stories manage to engage the reader and draw them into their respective worlds. The power of literature to create such engaging and thought-provoking plots is truly remarkable.

Perhaps if air conditioning had existed during the time these stories were set, the plots would have taken a different turn. But as it stands, we are left to wonder and imagine what might have been.

A confusing tale on the one hand and a perfectly lucid one on the other.

It is truly fascinating.

These types of tricks can only be practiced by the sharpest of writers.

Asa Leventhal, the main character here, and Allbee, a person Asa swears he detests, are the same person, to me as a reader.

There is almost nothing to explain here. And yet there is too much to reveal.

It is an 'unusual success.’ This story seems to be a paradox. On one hand, it presents a confusing narrative that leaves the reader scratching their head. But on the other hand, upon closer inspection, there is a certain clarity that emerges. The idea that Asa and Allbee are the same person is a clever twist that adds an extra layer of complexity to the story. It makes the reader question their own perceptions and assumptions.

While there may not be much that needs to be explicitly explained, there is still a wealth of hidden meaning and subtext that can be uncovered with further analysis. This 'unusual success' lies in the story's ability to engage the reader's mind and keep them guessing until the very end.

The suffocating heat of the city assumes a life of its own, emerging as a distinct character that oppresses, antagonizes, and clings to Leventhal like a parasite to its host.

Whether he is standing on the ferry, sitting in his apartment, or walking down the street, inevitably, in all these situations, he is trailed by a feverish summer haze.

Saul Bellow is truly a legendary wordsmith. His writing has a unique charm that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. I have a strong desire to read more of his books as this one was simply awesome and I thoroughly loved it.

However, I do wish that some of the character motivations and conflicts had been developed a bit more. At the same time, I kind of liked the consistent vagueness. Maybe it was just a matter of chance or perhaps it was a deliberate stylistic choice.

In conclusion, this book is a must-read for hustlers. It offers a captivating exploration of the human condition and the challenges we face in a complex and often unforgiving world.

I truly had to exert a great deal of force upon myself to complete this book. The primary reason for this was that the main character, Asa Leventhal, managed to irritate me to no end. He is a Jew who is gainfully employed by a trade magazine in the vibrant city of New York and is happily married. However, out of the blue, a man whom he knew only slightly years ago suddenly materializes and levels the accusation at Asa that he has ruined his life.

This book unfortunately combines two of my absolute least favorite tropes. The first trope is that of someone forcefully inserting themselves into another person's life, which is both intrusive and exasperating. The second trope is that of a person who has the perception that everyone around them is judging and criticizing them, when in fact, they themselves are extremely judgmental and critical. It makes it difficult to empathize with such a character and ultimately detracts from the overall enjoyment of the reading experience.

I loved this story, even though I can clearly see that it is not the most enjoyable reading experience.

To me, it felt like a rather mundane and realistic rendition of Kafka. Leventhall leads a very ordinary life in New York. However, things start to become overwhelming for him when his wife leaves for a few weeks.

He is then called upon to assist with a sick nephew, and an acquaintance begins to blame him for losing his job. This has happened to me as well, when problems suddenly emerge in both my personal and professional lives simultaneously.

Everything starts to spiral out of control, and paranoia starts to creep in. I found the story easy to read and could easily relate to Leventhall. We get an insight into his thought processes, and I was really rooting for him.

The story builds up to a dramatic climax, and there is a bit of a twist at the end, which added an extra layer of excitement to the narrative.

The Ecology of Oppression

How many ways can one be a schmuck? Bellow likely encompasses most of them in The Victim. There's over-reaction, under-reaction, mis-directed reaction, and delayed reaction - Asa Leventhal has them all. He can't be labeled hapless as he knows action is needed, yet he never seems to choose the right option.

Leventhal is overly confident when he should be cautious, impulsive when he should be afraid, and afraid when he could act boldly in his own interests. Marriage, work, and relationships are mysterious snares for him. So, no matter how he acts, he has regrets. His self-doubt is massive. He appears unable to learn from experience and thus repeats the same mistakes time and again.

To make matters worse, Leventhal is extremely sensitive to his immediate surroundings. He is empathetic, worries about others and their feelings, and takes their side even when it's to his detriment. Consequently, he is constantly faced with the need to decide how to adapt to circumstances. This sensitive introversion can border on saintliness or mental illness.

At times, the internal and external dialogues approach the frustrating exchanges of characters from a Samuel Beckett play - senseless mutual incomprehension that the reader must endure along with the characters. Scruples, second thoughts, hesitations, reversals, and unspoken things are abundant.

However, unlike Beckett, Bellow inserts wonderful lyricism into almost every scene. His descriptions of what Leventhal perceives can be exquisite. For example, “The paper frills along the shelves of the cupboard crackled in the current of the fan. It ran on the cabinet, sooty, with insectlike swiftness and a thrumming of its soft rubber blades; it suggested a fly hovering below the tarnish and heat of the ceiling and beside the scaling, many-jointed, curved pipes on which Elena hung rags to dry.”

The contrast, then, between Leventhal's observational delicacy and his operational effectiveness in life is stark. “People met you once or twice and they hated you. What was the reason; what inspired it?” This is Bellovian irony. He knows full well what inspires it: anti-Semitism. Leventhal encounters the beast of anti-Semitism in the office, with his in-laws, and in his remembered past. But he minimizes it, lets it slide to maintain civilized relationships. He feels compelled to be a mensch even in the midst of simmering hostility. One must never be disagreeable if one is to survive.

The reason for Leventhal's timidity is a very specific fear, a fear shared by other Jews in the story, the fear of creating a bad reputation among the goyim. Getting a name for being uncivil, for calling out those whose anti-Semitism is expressed so casually, would be counterproductive. It would simply confirm existing prejudices and also jeopardize the possibility of influence, both professional and personal. So, it is necessary to tolerate the verbal barbs and nasty asides lest something more dire occur. As the wife of one of Leventhal's acquaintances says, “People are bound not to take things too much to heart, for their own protection. You've got to use influence on them.” And you can't do that if you complain about irrational abuse.

So, Bellow's subtle issues throughout are about the morality of victimhood. Is it possible to escape the overwhelming power of convention and prejudice? Are the oppressed complicit in their own oppression? How open can a person be in confronting the powers that dominate his life? These are issues of culture and, therefore, literature, not for the popular press or the law courts. Which is precisely why Bellow writes about them.

Reason read: Reading 1001, TBR takedown, October 2024.

This book by Saul Bellow, published in 1947, is the 6th book that I've read by him. Bellow has a unique approach to his writing. He constructs a protagonist who is ordinary, humble, and benign.

In this particular book, Asa Leventhal is a young Jewish man in New York. He finds himself caught up in a nightmare of paranoia and fear. Symbolism abounds in Bellow's writing. Elements such as blood, weather, and prison all carry deeper meanings.

Bellow sets the stage by vividly describing New York as being "hot as Bangkok". Asa is alone as his wife is visiting her mother. Then, he encounters a man from the past named Albee. Albee accosts and accuses Asa, representing persecution and the threat of antisemitism.

Asa is also grappling with the illness of his brother's child. He essentially takes on the role of his brother's keeper, dealing not only with his brother but also eventually with Albee.

While Bellow writes about fate and man's relationship to it, he also shows Asa evolving into a decision maker, not completely at the mercy of fate. There is the motif of the victim mentality, which Asa is effectively struggling against.

Overall, this book offers a complex and engaging exploration of human nature, fate, and the challenges we face in life.

I ended up skimming a significant portion of this work.

The early works of Bellow simply do not hold any appeal for me.

They seem overly writerly, with a certain dullness that pervades the pages.

It is truly remarkable how one could have progressed from this initial style to the masterpiece that is Moses Herzog.

The transformation is almost unimaginable.

It makes me wonder what could have inspired such a radical change in Bellow's writing.

Perhaps it was a combination of life experiences, personal growth, and a deeper understanding of the human condition.

Whatever the reason, it is clear that Bellow's evolution as a writer is a fascinating journey to behold.

Despite my initial misgivings about his early works, I am now eager to explore more of his later writings and see how he continued to develop and refine his craft.