Novels 1944–1953: Dangling Man / The Victim / The Adventures of Augie March

The Adventures of Augie March is a remarkable work that is in the running for "The Great American Novel." It makes a strong case for this title, especially in terms of its tone and characters. The influence of Chicago is evident throughout the story, even when the characters are in Mexico training eagles. Einhorn and his poolroom are iconic, and it's hard to imagine gangster movies or even "The Sopranos" without the inspiration from this novel. It also has a great sense of humor.

However, for this reader, there were some drawbacks. I wanted to love this novel, but it didn't quite have the same impact as "Huckleberry Finn," "Sister Carrie," or Faulkner's works. The writing is pyrotechnic, especially in the famous opening paragraph, but at times, the profundities seemed unconnected or even incoherent. The book is long, and some of the characters didn't leave a lasting impression.

Despite these criticisms, "The Adventures of Augie March" has its strengths. Its overarching philosophy and passion for the exceptionalism of America are profound and should be at the core of any "Great American Novel." Augie's belief in the greatness of America is both inspiring and thought-provoking. The novel also captures the black-and-white Chicago of the gangsters and truly American acts like "Abbott and Costello" or "Our Gang." It's a genuine achievement by the author.

In conclusion, while "The Adventures of Augie March" is not without its flaws, it's still a significant work that any reader interested in Bellow should read. It's the novel that made him an "important artist," and it has many memorable moments. However, for this reader, other works like "Henderson the Rain King," "Seize the Day," and "Mr. Sammler's Planet" are more enjoyable and have a stronger impact.

**Dangling Man (****)**

In the past, when I had my own apartment, I was a voracious reader. I was constantly buying new books, perhaps even faster than I could read them. But as long as they surrounded me, they seemed to guarantee a more fulfilling life, one far more precious and necessary than the daily routine I was forced to endure.

I've begun to notice that as the world around me becomes more active, I move more slowly. My solitude grows in proportion to the chaos and frenzy outside.

There were lives organized around certain ways and houses, but I couldn't bring myself to believe that people were mere reflections of the things they lived among. I always tried to find signs of common humanity in their daily activities, whether it was in business, politics, or even in the more sordid aspects of their lives like assaults and murders.

I told Amos that I didn't want to become an officer. I saw the war as a misfortune and didn't want to advance myself through it. But he argued that someone had to be an officer. I was used to being passed over, I said with a shrug. It was the case in many areas of life, and the army was no exception.

But this kind of life has led to a blurring of the days. Iva may feel differently, but for me, the days have lost their distinctiveness. There used to be baking days, washing days, days that marked the beginning or end of events. But now they all blend together, and it's hard to tell one day from another.

Yet as a people, we're greatly concerned with perishability. We have an empire of iceboxes, and we'll fly pet cats hundreds of miles to save them with rare serums. Country neighbors in Arkansas will keep a month-long vigil to save the life of a ninety-year-old man.

Is it because some people, like artists, have acts of the imagination that save them? But what about me? I have no talent for that sort of thing. My talent, if I have one at all, is for being a citizen, or what's today called, somewhat apologetically, a good man. Is there some other personal effort I can make to substitute for the imagination? I'm unable to answer that question.

I'm no longer responsible for myself. I'm grateful for that. I'm in other hands now, relieved of self-determination, my freedom canceled. Hurray for regular hours! And for the supervision of the spirit!

**The Victim (****)**

By autumn, Leventhal and Mary were engaged, and he was amazed by his success. He thought that the hardships of his life had left him disfigured, and he was afraid that Mary would see this and be repelled. He wasn't entirely sure of her, and in fact, something terrible did happen a month after the engagement. Mary confessed that she couldn't break off her old attachment to a married man.

Leventhal kept the bathroom light on all night. He was a bit ashamed of himself for doing so, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being threatened while he slept.

When they reached the lower hall, Allbee stopped and accused Leventhal of blaming him for everything. He said that Leventhal was the one responsible for ruining his life.

Asa told Leventhal that they were men of the world and that he had to accept the fact that not everyone would like him. He said that it was almost a sin to be so innocent.

Allbee talked about luck and how it gives some people the chance to make choices. He said that having a few choices in life makes you feel less like an accident and more like your life is necessary.

Allbee bent forward and laid his hand on Leventhal's chair. For a moment, the two men looked at each other, and Leventhal felt a strange kind of affection for him. It oppressed him and repelled him at the same time, and he didn't know what to make of it. But still, he welcomed it.

**The Adventures of Augie March**

All the influences were lined up waiting for me. At that time, and later too, I had a very weak sense of consequences. The old lady's warnings and predictions about what awaited me - work certificates, stockyards, shovel labor, penitentiary rockpiles, bread and water, and lifelong ignorance and degradation - never really sank in. She invoked all these things, getting more and more worked up, but I just wasn't interested.

I wanted to be a mensch. But who can really expect the daily facts of life - work, prisons, oatmeal, laundry tickets, and all the rest - to disappear and for every moment to be raised to the greatest importance? Everyone knows that this kind of triumphant life can only be periodic. Some people say that only this kind of life is real, while others say that only the daily facts are. For me, there was no debate. I wanted the triumphant life.

I told the old man that I was in the book business, but I was sure he could see through my lies. I didn't know what the book business could mean to him, except maybe starving Pentateuch peddlers with beards full of Polish lice and feet wrapped in sacking.

During the chauffeurs' and hikers' strike, I had to wait in the police station for calls from the boss to tell the cops when a load of coal was setting out from the yard. It was my first time sitting in such a place, and I felt like I was moving from the dark to the lighter part of the great social protoplasm.

I didn't yet know what my view was of all this. I still wasn't sure whether I would be for or against it. But how does anyone decide to be against something and persist in that stance? When do you choose, and when are you chosen instead? Some people hear voices, some are saints, chieftains, orators, Horatius, kamikazes. One person says Ich kann nicht anders - so help me God! And why is it that I can't do otherwise? Is there some secret assignment from mankind to an unfortunate person who can't refuse?

You do all you can to make the world more human and familiar, but suddenly it becomes more strange than ever. The living are not what they were, the dead die again and again, and at last for good. I see this now.

Everyone tries to create a world he can live in, but the real world is already created. If your fabricated world doesn't correspond to the real one, then even if you feel noble and insist that there's something better than what people call reality, that better something may not be as good as you think.

I thought that my aim of being simple was just a fraud. I wasn't a bit goodhearted or affectionate. I began to wish that Mexico would come in and kill me and that I would be thrown in the cemetery for the insects and lizards.

On some of the golden afternoons by the dive where I sat in neglected pants and a dirty shirt with three days of bristles, I had the inclination to start yelling at the people around me. But while other creatures can make all the noise they want, there's supposed to be more delicate relief for the human species.

I had Padilla's slogan of "Easy or not at all." But what does that really mean? I read about King Arthur's Round Table when I was a kid, but what am I ever going to do about it? My heart was touched by sacrifice and pure attempts, but what should I do? The Gospels are full of advice, but how are you supposed to put it into practice?

There's too much history, culture, information, and influence in the world. It's all too much for me to handle. I get carried away. I don't want to spend my whole life preparing for life. It's better to dig ditches and hit other guys with your shovel than to die inside the walls of your own being.

I told Mr. Mintouchian that I had always tried to become what I am, but it was a frightening thing. What if what I am by nature isn't good enough? I was close to tears as I said it. But I supposed I better give in and be who I am. I will never force the hand of fate to create a better Augie March.

I felt settled and easy, my chest free and my fingers comfortable and open. But it takes a time like this for you to realize how sore your heart has been. All the while you thought you were idle, a lot of hard work was going on inside you. Hard, hard work of excavation and digging, mining, moling through tunnels, heaving, pushing, moving rock. And none of this work is visible from the outside. It all happens inside you because you're powerless and unable to get anywhere, to obtain justice or have requital. So you labor, you wage and combat, settle scores, remember insults, fight, reply, blab, denounce, triumph, outwit, overcome, vindicate, cry, persist, absolve, die and rise again. All by yourself! Where is everybody? Inside your breast and skin, the entire cast.

Brother! You never are through, you just think you are! I don't know who this saint was who woke up and reported on his secret dream that blessedness covers the whole Creation but covers it thicker in some places than in others. But it's my great weakness to respond to such dreams. This is the amor fati, the mysterious adoration of what occurs.

This is just an outstanding introductory book to Bellow. It truly showcases his remarkable vision and power.

Bellow is a literary giant, and this book serves as an excellent gateway to understanding his works and the depth of his talent.

The author has done a wonderful job of presenting Bellow's ideas and writing style in an accessible and engaging manner.

Whether you are new to Bellow or a long-time fan, this book is sure to provide valuable insights and a greater appreciation for his contributions to literature.

It is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the world of great literature and the minds of its most influential authors.

I had initially intended to just read "The Adventures of Augie March." However, I ended up reading both "The Dangling Man" and "The Victim" as well.

"Augie March" is a picaresque bildungsroman that seemingly made Bellow's reputation. But, truth be told, I found the other two novels more to my liking. They both had a greater sense of dramatic tension and more focused plots. The protagonists in the first two novels are much more driven and unhappy individuals, grappling with urban alienation in the early and later 1940s.

Augie, on the other hand, grows up right before the reader's eyes. He is always a somewhat aimless character, pushed around by the whims of fate. The narrator's persona in Augie didn't quite sit well with me. It's told in the first person, with the narrator looking back as a voraciously self-educated young man. But the extensive use of classical, biblical, and historical allusions really disrupted the flow of the book for me.

At the same time, there are some truly remarkable chapters in the book that will stay with me for a long time. There's a botched illegal abortion, the sinking of Augie's merchant ship, and his ill-fated trip to Mexico where he and the latest love of his life attempt to train an eagle to attack iguanas. These moments add a touch of the extraordinary to an otherwise meandering narrative.

I only read "The Adventures of Augie March" from this anthology.

This particular work by Saul Bellow has truly captured my attention. The story follows the life of Augie March, a young man navigating the complex and often chaotic world around him.

Bellow's vivid descriptions bring the characters and settings to life, making it easy for the reader to immerse themselves in Augie's adventures.

The novel explores themes such as identity, social class, and the search for meaning in life. Through Augie's experiences, we see the challenges and opportunities that come with growing up and finding one's place in the world.

"The Adventures of Augie March" is a rich and engaging read that offers valuable insights into the human condition. I look forward to exploring more of Bellow's works in the future.

One of my reading goals for 2020 was to explore more books from the first half of the twentieth century. This aspiration led me to Saul Bellow's debut novel, "Dangling Man," published in 1944.

The short novel's narrator is Joseph, a twenty-seven-year-old from Chicago. He finds himself in a legal limbo with his World War II draft board. Joseph chronicles his story through a series of diary entries spanning from December 15, 1942, to April 9, 1943. He is aware that he will inevitably be drafted at some point, but the process seems to be taking an eternity. As a result, he has had to put his life on hold.

As the months pass, Joseph's mental state becomes increasingly agitated. He begins to verbally abuse his former friends to such an extent that by the end of the novel, he rarely sees anyone except his wife and boarding house neighbors. Even his wife, Iva, is growing tired of his presence.

"And so I am very much alone. I sit idle in my room, anticipating the minor crises of the day, the maid's knock, the appearance of the postman, programs on the radio, and the sure, cyclical distress of certain thoughts."

By the time Joseph wrote the December 15, 1942, entry quoted above, he had already been "dangling" for seven months, waiting for the "reclassification" that would finally draft him into the military. Unbeknownst to Joseph, it would take another four months for his situation with the draft board to be resolved, and it would only happen after he took matters into his own hands.

In conclusion, "Dangling Man" offers an interesting glimpse into the mind of a man who is unexpectedly given the time to grapple with one of life's most profound questions: "How should a good man live; what ought he to do?" For Joseph, this proves to be a difficult question to answer, and the more he ponders it, the more confused he becomes. However, the novel does have its drawbacks. The narrator himself is the closest thing to a fully developed character, and even he is rather poorly developed. The supporting characters are mostly just walk-ons who appear and disappear as needed. This may be an inherent limitation of the novel's length and format, but it can make for some tedious reading at times.

Overall, "Dangling Man" is a thought-provoking novel that offers valuable insights into the human condition, but it also has its flaws.

You know why he won the Nobel in Literature? It's because "Augie" is an outstanding book. It stands tall among other literary masterpieces such as "Moby Dick", "Lord of the Flies", "The Stranger", and "Rabbit Run".

These books have all made significant contributions to the world of literature, each with its own unique style and profound themes. "Augie" is no exception. It tells a captivating story that engages the reader from beginning to end.

The characters in "Augie" are well-developed and complex, and the plot is full of twists and turns. It explores the human condition, relationships, and the search for meaning in life.

Overall, "Augie" is a remarkable work of literature that truly deserves to be recognized among the greats. Its author's talent and creativity are evident on every page, making it a must-read for any lover of literature.

I just finished reading Dangling Man and The Victim.

Oh, and I highly recommend reading The Victim!!! It is set in New York in the 1950s. Harold Bloom refers to it as a period piece, but in my opinion, it is much more than that. It has elements similar to Kafka and Alfred Hitchcock. The psychological realism in this book is truly excellent.

I would even go as far as to call it a psychological/existential thriller. It is an absolute must-read.

Now, I am onto The Adventures of Augie March which I am currently reading. I'm excited to see where this new literary journey takes me.

I can't wait to explore the world that Saul Bellow has created in this novel and discover the new characters and storylines that await me.