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.
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Saul Bellow - Novels 1944-1953
Reviewed in France 🇫🇷 on September 5, 2013
