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Saul Bellow: Novels 1944-1953: Dangling Man, The Victim, and The Adventures of Augie March (Library of America)

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I am a Bellow fan and have read most of his novels.

In case you are new to Bellow, his novels reflect his life, his writings, and his five marriages during his five active decades of writing. He hit his peak as a writer around the time of "Augie March" in 1953 and continued through to the Pulitzer novel "Humbolt's Gift" in 1973. He wrote from the early 1940s through to 2000. His novels are written in a narrative form, and the main character is a Jewish male, usually a writer but not always, and he is living in either in New York or Chicago. Bellow wrote approximately 13 novels plus other works. Bellow progressed a long way as a writer over the five decades. The early novels "Dangling Man" and "The Victim" were written 25 years before his peak. Those were heavy slow reads. "Dangling Man" is often boring, and Bellow was in search of his writing style in that period of the 1940s. Some compare his style in "Dangling Man" with Dostoevsky's "Notes from the Underground." Having read both I would say that "Notes" is brilliant while "Dangling Man" is at best average and sometimes a bit boring.

That brings us to the present book: "Novels from 1944-1953." I am a Bellow fan, and when I started I bought the present book first. In retospect that was a mistake, because this collection has his two worst novels. "Augie March" is his first big novel, but "Dangling Man" - is among his worst. Even Bellow himself was critical of that novel in later years. I prefer almost any of the later novels such as the masterpiece "Herzog" or "Humbolt's Gift" or "Mr. Sammler's Planet" or his last book and light read "Ravelstein." Some disagree and think that his early works are compact, well written, and his finest works. As a general reader, I thought the 1960s and 1970s works were much better and so did most critics. Bellow thought his best and most difficult to write book was his 1964 masterpiece "Herzog."

This is not the starting point for a Bellow reader.

Saul Bellow (1915 -- 2005) was born in Canada but was smuggled into the United States at the age of 9 by his bootlegging father. He spent his youth on the poorer Jewish streets of Chicago. Much of Bellow's writing is autobiographical in character and combines his rough-and-tumble early city life with his great erudition and thoughtfulness. Among much other recognition, Bellow received three National Book Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and the Nobel Prize in 1976.

The Library of America has published two volumes of Bellow's novels, the first of which includes the three novels written between 1944 and 1953 and the second of which includes three novels written between 1956 -- 1964, including "Seize the Day", "Henderson the Rain King", and "Herzog". I am reviewing the earlier volume here which includes "Dangling Man", "The Victim", and "The Adventures of Augie March."

When he became famous, Bellow distanced himself from his first two novels, describing "Dangling Man" as his M.A. thesis and "The Victim" as his Ph.D. But these novels are worth reading in themselves and in showing how Bellow both developed the themes in these early works while also breaking away from them. The two early books are studies of alienation and loneliness in an urban environment, pitting the "outsider" against the broader "society." They are heavily influenced by Dostoevsky and by existentialism. In "Augie March" Bellow emphasizes humanism, exhuberance, and the ability each person has in determining the course of his or her life.

"Dangling Man" (1944) is a short novel told in the form of the diary entries of its protagonist, Joseph. The novel sold poorly but marked the beginning of Bellow's high reputation with literary critics. It tells the story of a young man waiting for induction into the service. The induction has been deferred because of draft board mistakes and because of Joseph's status as a Canadian. During the time Joseph is left "dangling" he loses his job and is supported by his wife Iva. Although Iva encourages her husband to use the time given to him to further his strong interests in reading and writing, Joseph is unable to do so. He stays alone in his room for long periods, quarrels with his wife, family, and friends, and carries on an affair. Joseph seems to accept the necessity of the war effort and wants to come to terms with American society and its commercialism. Yet he remains an outsider. When the call to induction comes finally, Joseph responds with alacrity and relief, leaving behind a possibly failing relationship with his wife. The novel speaks to me about the difficulties of individual freedom and of being alone with oneself.

In "The Victim" (1947), Bellow examines loneliness and alienation in New York City following WW II. This novel again sold poorly, but it was made into a play which ran off-Broadway for a brief time in 1952. The protagonist is a Jewish man, Asa Leventhal, who works as an editor and is estranged from his family. His wife is out of town during a hot summer, leaving Asa alone. Leventhal is increasingly bothered and stalked by an old acquaintance, Allbee, who believes Leventhal was responsible for getting him fired and for his descent into poverty when Leventhal allegedly retaliated for Allbee's anti-Semitic remarks. Besides his increasing difficulties with Allbee, Leventhal becomes involved in the life of his Catholic and Italian sister-in-law whose young son is dying. "The Victim" is a story of guilt and paranoia with considerable emphasis on the strength of anti-Semitism in post-war America. The novel is tightly if formulaically constructed.

In the sprawling, exuberant picaresque novel "The Adventures of Augie March" (1953) Bellow found his own voice and recieved the first of this three National Book Awards. The book is told in the voice of its narrator, Augie, and it spans Augie's early life in Depression-era Chicago to Augie's mid-life following WW II. Much of the book involves Augie's relationship with his older brother, Simon, who is first in his high school class, marries into a wealthy family, and becomes highly succressful. But Augie must find his own way. His family also includes an old woman who lives with the family and who functions as its "grandmother" or matriarch, a weak mother who was abandoned early by her husband and who Augie never sees, and a feeble-minded brother, George.

At the outset of his story, Augie proclaims himself "an American, Chicago born", and he reflects that the story of his wanderings and experiences will illustrate the pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus's dictum that "character is fate." Augie has a series of long and rollicking adventures, legitimate and illigitimate, beginning with his work for a scheming Chicago insurance man and swindler named Einhorn. Later, he helps his brother Simon who has become the owner of a coal-yard. Augie meets and has affairs with many women of varied social backgrounds. He studies and reads voraciously but never finishes college. Augie's wanderings take him to Mexico in the company of an eccentric wealthy woman, with whom he is in love, for whom Augie trains an eagle in an futile effort to catch lizards. During WW II, Augie enlists in the Merchant Marine and, when his ship is torpedoed, he spends days adrift in the mid-Atlantic with a crazy scientist. Ultimately, Augie marries one of his flames, an actress named Stella, and seems to learn something of the nature of love. His life still remains an adventure and an unfinished project.

A small incident illustrates the humanistic character of Augie March and the hope it offers for the individual. Late in the book, in post-War Italy, Augie meets an impoverished Italian woman who offers to show him sites for a fee. Augie says he does not want a guide, because "people" come to him all the time; and he offers the woman a small sum. The woman responds" "People! But I am not other people. You should realize that. I am.... This is happening to me." (p. 974) Throughout this book, Bellow offers a vision of the individual and his or her value. Augie's life, in large scale, and the Italian woman whom I have discussed in small scale, show that people can fight and succeed and make something of life that they want. The book is a melange consisting of a vision of America and its promise, of taking and making one's opportunities in life, and of the value of literature and thought in making life worth living. "Augie March" is a diffuse wordy book full of both street-toughness and long philosophical reflections. If not the great American novel, it remains an extraordinary book.

This LOA edition includes sparse notes to the texts prepared by James Wood together with a useful chronology. It offers an excellent way to read the early works of a great American novelist.

Robin Friedman

At age 29, Saul Bellow published his first novel, the `Dangling Man', about somebody resembling him too much not to be at least in part a self portrait. The book came out in 1944. The novel is set in 1942/43. The US is in WW2; the depression is not fully over.
We read the diary of a young Canadian called Joseph, who is waiting to be called up to the US army (North Africa campaign ongoing). He apologizes (to whom?) for writing a diary, which in itself is not in line with the requirements of the age of hard-boileddom, as he fears. Joseph observes himself and tries to understand his situation. He is alienated from his friends, his family, even his own self. The expected call up for war almost seems like the only salvation in sight. He despises the war. He hopes to survive it, but would rather be a victim than a beneficiary. He does not try to become an officer. What's wrong with being a private?

The Dangling Man is considered an apprentice novel. The second one, `The Victim', still belongs in this category. It is set in New York. It was published in 1947. It is about a man who is given to excessive self-questioning, and who is being stalked by a man who accuses him of having intentionally caused his ruin. All social relations are complicated by the added dimension of the central character's Jewishness. Anti-Semitism is an element of all relations. It is up to us whether one man or the other is the title victim, or both.

Bellow's breakthrough was `The Adventures of Augie March', which was published in 1953. Excerpts had appeared here and there since 1949. It is a 600 page doorstopper. That is, frankly, too much. The story is not interesting enough for such a long road. We are not meeting many interesting people. We follow the miseducation of a rather disoriented young man in Chicago in the 20s/30s. He has his ups and downs, he turns down a few good prospects for advancement, he has criminal as well as intellectual adventures; of course also sexual ones. Bellow had found his own voice and it was a success, but I don't find it entirely convincing.

As much as I love the volumes of the LoA for their design, size, paper, type, there are also shortcomings. The notes section is mostly rather arbitrary in its selection of subjects that are given an explanation. In addition there are editing issues. Here, for instance, the Umlaut causes insurmountable difficulties. Example: instead of Fräulein, we are given a Fraülein. Displeasing to the eye. Many foreign language quotes are erroneous. Just this example: The Victim has `der alter Mann', which is faulty grammar, and not possibly Yiddish (which accounts for some apparently odd German). (It should be `der alte Mann', by the way.) This maybe trivial, but it is frequent and could be avoided with some effort.

Bellow: Novels 1944-1953 collects three novels by renowned author Saul Bellow: "Dangling Man"; "The Victim"; and "The Adventures Of Augie March". These three literary works distinguished Bellow as a great writer of the postwar era and set the groundwork for his intellectual pursuits. Exploring the human psyche, the brutal vagaries of chance, coming of age in the harsh Depression era, and more, these enduringly popular novels have stood the literary test of time and are undisputably worthy of recognition and respect. Published on non-acid paper specifically necessary for a "shelf life" of many decades, Bellow: Novels 1944-1953 is an essential part of any academic or community library collection.

The 'Library of America' has wisely chosen to present the reader with the major works of Bellow.The three works presented in this opening volume are his first novels, and include his breakthrough book. "The Adventures of Augie March". This is the book which put Bellow on the literary map in a big way. Its famous opening," I am an American, Chicago born" was the introduction to a long vital comic romp in which the adventures of character and plot are complemented , or rather invigorated by the play of ideas.
My own preference is not for the works presented here, but rather for the middle aged Bellow of "Seize the Day" and "Herzog".
Yet for anyone interested in tracing the overall development of Bellow these novels are essential.

Bellow, Saul, The Victim. 1947. New York: Library of America, 2003.
This novel, Bellow's second to be published, is more of a "head" piece than "Dangling Man" or "Augie March." Asa Leventhal, the thickset, serious-minded copy editor whose wife is seemingly forever out of town, has a weak ego and an even weaker coping mechanism for stress. He is talked into believing that he once injured a now-drunken friend of a friend while at a party, a character named Allbee, who stalks him, accuses him of ruining his life, belligerently invites himself into Leventhal's apartment, and demands all sorts of favors to "clear the slate," all the while slinging anti-Semitic shots from his supposedly superior social position as a descendant of the New England Puritans. Why Leventhal puts up with this is the problem of the novel, and none of his friends can figure him out. A subplot concerning the illness of a young nephew, and some back story, fills out the book. I sympathized with Leventhal but criticize Bellow for never bringing him really to life. What I found more enjoyable were the descriptions and scenes of New York in the 40s, set in a Gatsby-like unending heat wave and bringing back memories of my first trip there in 1949. But that's just something that satisfied me and it isn't enough.