Herzog

 

Herzog
by Saul Bellow
read: 2021
Time 100 Novels, Guardian 1000 Novels

I got a sinking feeling about 2/3 of the way through that this was going to wind up being really dark. Instead it was sort of like The Corrections - more about a gradual realization than a big dramatic event. Would it have had deeper meaning for me if I had enough of a background in philosophy to appreciate a lot of the references that the titular Moses Herzog, an academic, makes? Maybe.

The Adventures of Augie March

The Adventures of Augie March
by Saul Bellow
read: 2010
Time 100 Novels, Modern Library #81, Guardian 1000 Novels, National Book Award

When I started the Time 100 greatest novels list, The Adventures of Augie March is the first book I picked up.  Mostly because the list on their website is alphabetized by title.  Which is kinda weird.

Like the protagonist of A House for Mr. Biswas, the titular Augie March is not a remarkable figure on the face of things, nor an obviously heroic one.  His adventures are interesting and often amusing, as he holds a series of jobs, nearly gets adopted by a rich couple, and falls in love and travels to Mexico to train eagles.  But they don't really follow a narrative arc, and it's hard to discern what lessons we are meant to infer from Augie's experiences.  This lack of clear message makes the book feel honest, and Augie's optimism in the face of uncertainty feels real and refreshing.