Reason read: my TBR takedown selection for October 2023. I generally like Bellows. This was a so so book for me. A story of a man who fails at everything and gets used and abused by all; his father, his wife, and acquaintances. Phrases from my copy;“raging soul that mirrors the color, sound, and fury of Saul Bellow’s big-city fictional universe.” It is more a story of a man who fails at his dreams, wants to get rich easy, meets up with the end of all man. ( )

Seize the Day (Paperback) by Saul Bellow is a diversion from my usual reading of historical non-fiction. After two "Holocaust" books in a row (both excellent) I figured I could "lighten it up" a little with the change. Previously I read another Bellow novel, Herzog, and one of this few non-fiction works, To Jerusalem and Back. Curiously, I like his writing, even though it is very much from the period of the prime of his life, the 1950's and 1960's. If I hoped for a lighter, more relaxing read I didn't find it. The book was depressing at the beginning, and grew more so until it ended with his sobbing violently at a stranger's funeral.

Nevertheless, reading this book reminded me of the value of reading non-fiction for its deep dives into people's lives. The genre does liberate the author from having to be faithful to any set of facts. You can be sure I'll be back for more. I may re-read Herzog, which I read for high-school English in the spring on 1975 and only vaguely remember. ( )

La narración envolvente de Carpe diem, su mordaz sentido del humor, la descripción minuciosa de la geografía interior -y exterior- de los personajes que habitan esta novela y el talento para analizar el comportamiento humano demuestran por qué Saul Bellow está considerado uno de los narradores más lúcidos del siglo XX. Carpe diem. Vive el momento. Sumérgete en el aquí y el ahora. Esas frases salidas de la boca del extravagante doctor Tamkin como un dudoso elixir milagroso rebotan contra los tímpanos de Wilhelm, un hombre acosado por varios frentes: actor fracasado, danza al son de las exigencias de su ex mujer y sus dos hijos, despreciado por la empres que le despidió en lugar de otorgarle el ascenso prometido y ninguneado por la soberbia y frialdad de su propio padre. Pero la esperanza es lo último que se pierde, y ahora ésta se ha encarnado en setecientos dólares... Saul Bellow, Premio Nobel de Literatura 1976.

Wilhelm is the failing son of Dr Adler, who has given up on him; he has deserted his wife and two kids, and now lost all his money in a very silly way to a trickster Tamkin, who at times sounds as though he is in a hypomanic state. He once screen tested for the movies, he once looked good, but no more. Most of the writing is about his self pitying ramblings. No I didn't like it, but it was at least only 1/4 inch thick. ( )

More mid-life male angst. ( )