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賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 卮丕賴 亘丕乇丕賳
賴賳丿乇爻賵賳貙 卮丕賴 亘丕乇丕賳 賳賵毓蹖 乇賲丕賳 爻蹖乇 賵 爻賱賵讴 丕爻鬲. 倬乇 丕夭 丨乇賮鈥屬囏й� 賮賱爻賮蹖 賵 賲丕噩乇丕賴丕蹖 讴賲蹖讴. 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賲乇丿蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 丿賳亘丕賱 賲毓賳丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖鈥屭必�. 賲乇丿蹖 讴賴 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 丿丕乇丿. 孬乇賵鬲貙 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴貙 倬丕蹖诏丕賴 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖... 賵賱蹖 丕夭 夭賳丿诏蹖 乇丕囟蹖 賳蹖爻鬲. 丿乇 鬲賱丕卮 亘乇丕蹖 讴卮賮 賲毓賳丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 爻乇 丕夭 丌賮乇蹖賯丕 丿乇賲蹖鈥屫①堌必� 賵 乇賵夭賴丕蹖 胤賵賱丕賳蹖 乇丕 亘丕 賲乇丿賲 賯亘丕蹖賱 丿賵乇丿爻鬲 丕毓賲丕賯 丌賮乇蹖賯丕 賲蹖鈥屭柏必з嗀�.
爻丕賱 亘賱賵 禺賵丿卮 乇賲丕賳 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳貙 卮丕賴 亘丕乇丕賳 乇丕 亘蹖卮 丕夭 亘賯蹖踿 讴丕乇賴丕蹖卮 賲蹖鈥屬矩迟嗀屫� 賵 賴賲蹖卮賴 丿乇 氐丿乇 讴丕乇賴丕蹖 賲賵乇丿 毓賱丕賯賴鈥屫ж� 丕夭 丌賳 賳丕賲 賲蹖鈥屫ㄘ必�.
爻丕賱 亘賱賵 禺賵丿卮 乇賲丕賳 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳貙 卮丕賴 亘丕乇丕賳 乇丕 亘蹖卮 丕夭 亘賯蹖踿 讴丕乇賴丕蹖卮 賲蹖鈥屬矩迟嗀屫� 賵 賴賲蹖卮賴 丿乇 氐丿乇 讴丕乇賴丕蹖 賲賵乇丿 毓賱丕賯賴鈥屫ж� 丕夭 丌賳 賳丕賲 賲蹖鈥屫ㄘ必�.
450 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
443 people are currently reading
13657 people want to read
About the author
Saul Bellow
308听books1,906听followersSaul Bellow was a Canadian-American writer widely regarded as one of the most important novelists of the 20th century. Known for his rich prose, intellectual depth, and incisive character studies, Bellow explored themes of identity, alienation, and the complexities of modern life with a distinct voice that fused philosophical insight and streetwise humor. His major works, including Herzog, Humboldt's Gift, The Adventures of Augie March, and Mr. Sammler鈥檚 Planet, earned him critical acclaim and a lasting legacy in American literature.
Born in Lachine, Quebec, to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Bellow moved with his family to Chicago at a young age鈥攁 city that would shape much of his worldview and become a frequent backdrop in his fiction. He studied anthropology and sociology at the University of Chicago and later Northwestern University, and his intellectual interests would deeply inform his writing. Though he briefly pursued graduate studies in anthropology, Bellow soon turned to literature, publishing his first novel, Dangling Man, in 1944.
Bellow鈥檚 breakthrough came with The Adventures of Augie March (1953), a sprawling, exuberant novel that won the National Book Award and marked a new direction in American fiction. With its energetic language and episodic structure, it introduced readers to a new kind of literary hero鈥攗napologetically intellectual yet deeply grounded in the realities of urban life. Over the following decades, Bellow produced a series of acclaimed novels that further cemented his reputation. Herzog (1964), often considered his masterpiece, is a psychological portrait of a troubled academic whose inner turmoil unfolds through a series of unsent letters, while Humboldt鈥檚 Gift (1975), a semi-autobiographical reflection on art and fame, won the Pulitzer Prize.
In 1976, Bellow was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture. He remains the only writer to have won the National Book Award for Fiction three times, and he also received the National Medal of Arts and the Library of Congress鈥檚 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Beyond his fiction, Bellow was a passionate essayist and teacher. He held academic positions at institutions such as the University of Minnesota, Princeton, and Boston University, and was known for his sharp intellect and lively classroom presence. Despite his literary stature, Bellow often wrote about ordinary people and infused his work with humor, moral reflection, and a deep appreciation of life鈥檚 contradictions.
Saul Bellow鈥檚 influence can be seen in the work of countless writers who followed him. His ability to combine the comic with the profound, the intellectual with the visceral, made his voice uniquely American and universally resonant. He continued writing into his later years, publishing his final novel, Ravelstein, in 2000.
Bellow鈥檚 work continues to be read and celebrated for its wisdom, vitality, and fearless examination of what it means to be human in a chaotic world.
Born in Lachine, Quebec, to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Bellow moved with his family to Chicago at a young age鈥攁 city that would shape much of his worldview and become a frequent backdrop in his fiction. He studied anthropology and sociology at the University of Chicago and later Northwestern University, and his intellectual interests would deeply inform his writing. Though he briefly pursued graduate studies in anthropology, Bellow soon turned to literature, publishing his first novel, Dangling Man, in 1944.
Bellow鈥檚 breakthrough came with The Adventures of Augie March (1953), a sprawling, exuberant novel that won the National Book Award and marked a new direction in American fiction. With its energetic language and episodic structure, it introduced readers to a new kind of literary hero鈥攗napologetically intellectual yet deeply grounded in the realities of urban life. Over the following decades, Bellow produced a series of acclaimed novels that further cemented his reputation. Herzog (1964), often considered his masterpiece, is a psychological portrait of a troubled academic whose inner turmoil unfolds through a series of unsent letters, while Humboldt鈥檚 Gift (1975), a semi-autobiographical reflection on art and fame, won the Pulitzer Prize.
In 1976, Bellow was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture. He remains the only writer to have won the National Book Award for Fiction three times, and he also received the National Medal of Arts and the Library of Congress鈥檚 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Beyond his fiction, Bellow was a passionate essayist and teacher. He held academic positions at institutions such as the University of Minnesota, Princeton, and Boston University, and was known for his sharp intellect and lively classroom presence. Despite his literary stature, Bellow often wrote about ordinary people and infused his work with humor, moral reflection, and a deep appreciation of life鈥檚 contradictions.
Saul Bellow鈥檚 influence can be seen in the work of countless writers who followed him. His ability to combine the comic with the profound, the intellectual with the visceral, made his voice uniquely American and universally resonant. He continued writing into his later years, publishing his final novel, Ravelstein, in 2000.
Bellow鈥檚 work continues to be read and celebrated for its wisdom, vitality, and fearless examination of what it means to be human in a chaotic world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,022 reviews
July 25, 2024
Do the modern achievements of civilization bring good? Or do they bring evil? Isn鈥檛 it better to return to the primordial roots and become a part of nature?
Protagonist 鈥� a future rainmaker 鈥� is a picturesque persona鈥�
Henderson is tired of civilization and, in search of pristine human origins, he runs away to Africa.
But an incorrigible intellectual among the primordial people is like a sailor marooned on a desert island among mice.
He who is an idealist in his homeland is an idealist anywhere.
Render unto Caesar the things which be Caesar鈥檚, and unto God the things which be God鈥檚.
Protagonist 鈥� a future rainmaker 鈥� is a picturesque persona鈥�
Here comes Henderson of the U.S.A. 鈥� Captain Henderson, Purple Heart, veteran of North Africa, Sicily, Monte Cassino, etc., a giant shadow, a man of flesh and blood, a restless seeker, pitiful and rude, a stubborn old lush with broken bridgework, threatening death and suicide.
Henderson is tired of civilization and, in search of pristine human origins, he runs away to Africa.
All human accomplishment has this same origin, identically. Imagination is a force of nature. Is this not enough to make a person full of ecstasy? Imagination, imagination, imagination! It converts to actual. It sustains, it alters, it redeems!
But an incorrigible intellectual among the primordial people is like a sailor marooned on a desert island among mice.
He who is an idealist in his homeland is an idealist anywhere.
Render unto Caesar the things which be Caesar鈥檚, and unto God the things which be God鈥檚.
August 15, 2015
Although I enjoyed the book, I have trouble improving on this brief summary from :
A rich old man goes to Africa to find himself, only to get tangled up in one huge, extended metaphor with a lion.
July 18, 2015
Holden Caulfield goes to Africa.
May 22, 2013
If you can endure the narcissistic, misogynistic narrator-protagonist, if you can pretend to believe that every woman he meets wants to jump his bones, every guy wants to become his pal and no one anywhere wants to slap him silly, if you can abide the phony African setting, if you can shrug off the plot contrivances and force yourself to care about yet another privileged male鈥檚 midlife crisis, if you can avoid rolling your eyes out of socket at the 鈥渉umorous鈥� mishaps caused by the Rabelaisian hero against the noble savages he pursues, then occasionally you will find some perceptive observations in this novel. Eventually the narrator will reveal a spark of humanity. Once or twice he will treat women as though they鈥檙e almost human. And some of the author鈥檚 descriptive flourishes will evoke genuine pleasure.
But Bellow here wants it both ways: he wants to parody the Hemingway-esque hero type and he also wants page after page philosophical babble to be taken seriously. I couldn鈥檛 do it. Over and over again I set this book aside never wanting to look at it again; I read review after review trying to appreciate what others saw; I forced myself to continue in an effort to understand its critical acclaim; but I'm still baffled.
But Bellow here wants it both ways: he wants to parody the Hemingway-esque hero type and he also wants page after page philosophical babble to be taken seriously. I couldn鈥檛 do it. Over and over again I set this book aside never wanting to look at it again; I read review after review trying to appreciate what others saw; I forced myself to continue in an effort to understand its critical acclaim; but I'm still baffled.
June 9, 2022
丕夭 毓丕賱賲 賵 丌丿賲 丿賵乇 卮丿賴 亘賵丿賲 賵 乇爻蹖丿賴 亘賵丿蹖賲 亘賴 夭賲蹖賳 氐丕賮蹖 讴賴 讴賵賴鈥屬囏� 诏乇丿卮 乇丕 丕丨丕胤賴 讴乇丿賴 亘賵丿賳丿. 賲賳胤賯賴 禺卮讴 賵 丿丕睾 賵 亘丕蹖乇蹖 亘賵丿 賵 趩賳丿 乇賵夭 亘賵丿 讴賴 乇丿倬丕蹖蹖 賳賲蹖鈥屫屫屬�. 诏蹖丕賴蹖 賴賲 賵噩賵丿 賳丿丕卮鬲. 丕氐賱丕賸 賴蹖趩蹖 賳亘賵丿. 賮賯胤 夭賲蹖賳 氐丕賮 賵 爻丕丿賴貙 賵 賲賳 禺蹖丕賱 賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 賵丕乇丿 鬲丕乇蹖禺 卮丿賴鈥屫з�. 鬲丕乇蹖禺 賴爻鬲蹖貙 賳賴 丕蹖賳 鬲丕乇蹖禺 賲爻禺乇賴 賲丕 丕賳爻丕賳鈥屬囏�. 鬲丕乇蹖禺 丕蹖丕賲蹖 讴賴 賴賳賵夭 禺亘乇蹖 丕夭 亘卮乇 賳亘賵丿.
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讴鬲丕亘 丿乇 賲賵乇丿 賮乇丿蹖 亘賴 賳丕賲 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 丕爻鬲. 趩乇丕 丨丕賱丕 卮丕賴 亘丕乇丕賳責 趩賵賳 賵丕乇丿 蹖讴 賯亘蹖賱賴鈥屰� 丕賮乇蹖賯丕蹖蹖 卮丿賴 賵 亘丕 賵乇賵丿卮 亘丕乇丕賳 丕賵賲丿賴... 丨丕賱丕 亘丕蹖丿 丿蹖丿 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 禺賵丿卮 賳丕噩蹖賴 蹖丕 賲賳噩蹖 ...
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賲賳 氐賵鬲蹖 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 氐丿丕蹖 丌賯丕蹖 毓賲乇丕賳蹖 诏賵卮 丿丕丿賲貙 胤賳夭 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 毓丕賱蹖 亘賵丿 賵 禺賱丕氐賴 禺賷賱蹖 诏賵卮 丿丕丿賳 亘賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 禺賵亘 賵 噩丕賱亘 亘賵丿.
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讴鬲丕亘 丿乇 賲賵乇丿 賮乇丿蹖 亘賴 賳丕賲 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 丕爻鬲. 趩乇丕 丨丕賱丕 卮丕賴 亘丕乇丕賳責 趩賵賳 賵丕乇丿 蹖讴 賯亘蹖賱賴鈥屰� 丕賮乇蹖賯丕蹖蹖 卮丿賴 賵 亘丕 賵乇賵丿卮 亘丕乇丕賳 丕賵賲丿賴... 丨丕賱丕 亘丕蹖丿 丿蹖丿 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 禺賵丿卮 賳丕噩蹖賴 蹖丕 賲賳噩蹖 ...
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賲賳 氐賵鬲蹖 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 氐丿丕蹖 丌賯丕蹖 毓賲乇丕賳蹖 诏賵卮 丿丕丿賲貙 胤賳夭 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 毓丕賱蹖 亘賵丿 賵 禺賱丕氐賴 禺賷賱蹖 诏賵卮 丿丕丿賳 亘賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 禺賵亘 賵 噩丕賱亘 亘賵丿.
October 28, 2023
Astonishing. Subtly madcap. An endearing, charming book. My 2nd or 3rd reading.
His name is Eugene Henderson. He's a mountain of a man, and all existential angst. He is from a storied family, owns an extensive estate in New Jersey, where he has raised pigs, and has been left $3 million (1958 US) by his neurasthenic, violin playing father. He's an Episcopalian or something, a blowhard and a bully. He's quite a talker, a sojourner in life, possessed of the remarkable gift of being able to externalize his feelings 鈥� and he is unhappy.
He is "rash and unlucky and acts without sufficient reflection" (p. 88) He seeks purpose. At 63 he's too old to become a doctor, but he gives it considerable thought. When he tells his first wife what's on his mind, she laughs in his face and he divorces her. Ultimately he goes to Africa with a friend, this travel another kind of externalization, of his lostness.
His speech to Queen Willatale of the Arnewi 鈥� he's deep in the interior of Africa now 鈥� sums up his mindset.
"Oh, it's miserable to be human. . . Just another vehicle for temper and vanity and rashness and all the rest. Who wants it? Who needs it? These things occupy the place where a man's soul should be. But as long as she [the queen] has started I want her to read me the whole indictment. I can fill her in on a lot of counts, though I don't think I would have to. She seems to know. Lust, rage, and all the rest of it. A regular bargain basement of deformities ..." (p. 78)
A few keywords. One is rash and the other is blow. Henderson is hasty and rash in his actions. Life and suffering are like blows which constantly assail him. Shuddering under the blows, however, he can be very funny and not infrequently annoying.
After he destroys the frogs in the Arnewi cistern he hightails it on foot to the far less hospitable Wariri, who put him up for the night in a room with a corpse, which he deeply resents. He decides to move the corpse. Lest, he be blamed for killing it.
"I rose and tied a blanket under my chin, a precaution against stains. I had decided to carry the man on my back in case we had to run for it. . . First I pulled the body away from the wall. Then I took it by the wrists and with a quick turn, bending, hauled it on my back. I was afraid lest the arms begin to exert a grip on my neck from behind. Tears of anger and repugnance began to hang from my eyes. I fought to stifle these feelings back into my chest. And I thought, what if this man should turn out to be a Lazarus? But this dead man on my back was no Lazarus. He was cold and the skin in my hands was dead. His chin had settled on my shoulder. Determined as only a man can be who is saving his life, I made huge muscles in my jaw and shut my teeth to hold my entrails back, as they seemed to be rising on me. I suspected that if the dead man had been planted on me and the tribe was awake and watching, when I was halfway to the ravine they might burst out and yell, 'Dead stealer! Ghoul! Give back our dead man!' and they would hit me on the head and lay me out for my sacrilege. Thus I would end鈥擨, Henderson, with all my striving and earnestness." (p. 134)
Then he meets the Western educated Wariri king with whom he becomes fast friends. Henderson takes part in a tribal ritual, demonstrates his extraordinary strength, and becomes the Rain King. He admits to the king his longing for personal meaning in his life. But all is not well in Wariri-ville. There is politics here, too. Henderson learns of a cabal that is set against the king, who, the cabal believes, has become too westernized, too cut off from the traditional beliefs. Toward the end, the enlightened King helps Henderson to work through his emotional issues by introducing him to Atti, an immense tigress. I'll say no more. Read it, please.
His name is Eugene Henderson. He's a mountain of a man, and all existential angst. He is from a storied family, owns an extensive estate in New Jersey, where he has raised pigs, and has been left $3 million (1958 US) by his neurasthenic, violin playing father. He's an Episcopalian or something, a blowhard and a bully. He's quite a talker, a sojourner in life, possessed of the remarkable gift of being able to externalize his feelings 鈥� and he is unhappy.
He is "rash and unlucky and acts without sufficient reflection" (p. 88) He seeks purpose. At 63 he's too old to become a doctor, but he gives it considerable thought. When he tells his first wife what's on his mind, she laughs in his face and he divorces her. Ultimately he goes to Africa with a friend, this travel another kind of externalization, of his lostness.
His speech to Queen Willatale of the Arnewi 鈥� he's deep in the interior of Africa now 鈥� sums up his mindset.
"Oh, it's miserable to be human. . . Just another vehicle for temper and vanity and rashness and all the rest. Who wants it? Who needs it? These things occupy the place where a man's soul should be. But as long as she [the queen] has started I want her to read me the whole indictment. I can fill her in on a lot of counts, though I don't think I would have to. She seems to know. Lust, rage, and all the rest of it. A regular bargain basement of deformities ..." (p. 78)
A few keywords. One is rash and the other is blow. Henderson is hasty and rash in his actions. Life and suffering are like blows which constantly assail him. Shuddering under the blows, however, he can be very funny and not infrequently annoying.
After he destroys the frogs in the Arnewi cistern he hightails it on foot to the far less hospitable Wariri, who put him up for the night in a room with a corpse, which he deeply resents. He decides to move the corpse. Lest, he be blamed for killing it.
"I rose and tied a blanket under my chin, a precaution against stains. I had decided to carry the man on my back in case we had to run for it. . . First I pulled the body away from the wall. Then I took it by the wrists and with a quick turn, bending, hauled it on my back. I was afraid lest the arms begin to exert a grip on my neck from behind. Tears of anger and repugnance began to hang from my eyes. I fought to stifle these feelings back into my chest. And I thought, what if this man should turn out to be a Lazarus? But this dead man on my back was no Lazarus. He was cold and the skin in my hands was dead. His chin had settled on my shoulder. Determined as only a man can be who is saving his life, I made huge muscles in my jaw and shut my teeth to hold my entrails back, as they seemed to be rising on me. I suspected that if the dead man had been planted on me and the tribe was awake and watching, when I was halfway to the ravine they might burst out and yell, 'Dead stealer! Ghoul! Give back our dead man!' and they would hit me on the head and lay me out for my sacrilege. Thus I would end鈥擨, Henderson, with all my striving and earnestness." (p. 134)
Then he meets the Western educated Wariri king with whom he becomes fast friends. Henderson takes part in a tribal ritual, demonstrates his extraordinary strength, and becomes the Rain King. He admits to the king his longing for personal meaning in his life. But all is not well in Wariri-ville. There is politics here, too. Henderson learns of a cabal that is set against the king, who, the cabal believes, has become too westernized, too cut off from the traditional beliefs. Toward the end, the enlightened King helps Henderson to work through his emotional issues by introducing him to Atti, an immense tigress. I'll say no more. Read it, please.
June 21, 2012
There is a thriving trade in self-help books which have always baffled me. I could never relate to another person telling me Look, these are the steps you need to take to better your life & if you don't take them you are done for ! Well, no book will be so absolute in saying so but underlying all the sugarcoating there is this message loud & clear in most books of this genre. Then however comes the matter of literature where a clever author without even giving you the faintest clue ties a blindfold around your eyes and walks you along telling you the story of a character & a quest. At some point (s)he pulls the blindfold off you & cries There, you see where our character is right now ? Then and only then do you realize the importance of the word self-discovery. Precisely what Saul Bellow does in this book !
There is no patronizing in the words, no hollow advise on quick fixes you need to follow to discover the meaning of life. There is however a series of nerve wracking ordeals through which the guinea pig of a character named Eugene Henderson has to go through. Eugene is the oddball scion of an illustrious American family which counts State Secretaries, Scientists, Scholars & Lunatics among wealth and a solid ancestry. Eugene however is a totally different beast altogether, he is from rind to core a mass of confusion.When confronted with situations or emotions that threaten to get the better of him, he reacts in the only way best known to him : violence. He tries to find an inner meaning & solace in a lot of totally unconnected areas : Music, Sex, Soldiering, Alcohol, Farming but each tend to be a bigger disaster than the one preceding it. Eugene to me was very much akin to what a gorilla would have been in a glass factory. Leaving behind such a trail of shattered things, he escapes to Africa. It is among two of the most isolated of tribes : The Arnewi & The Wariri that the rest of his life story is penned.
One amusing character I found in the tale was of King Dahfu of the Wariri. Eugene's interactions with the King give way to some of the most mind boggling & quote worthy prose in the book. The eccentric intelligence of the King rubs off on Eugene and the first tentative roots of transformation take hold in his character. Of significant presence for the principal protagonist is also the prophecy of Daniel on Nebuchadnezzar for at all phases in life, Eugene is closely linked to the lives of animals around him.
The prose is extremly powerful and moving. While retaining the touch of a master wordsmith, Bellow creates extremely witty monologues especially in the earlier half of the book. This is easily a favorite for me !
There is no patronizing in the words, no hollow advise on quick fixes you need to follow to discover the meaning of life. There is however a series of nerve wracking ordeals through which the guinea pig of a character named Eugene Henderson has to go through. Eugene is the oddball scion of an illustrious American family which counts State Secretaries, Scientists, Scholars & Lunatics among wealth and a solid ancestry. Eugene however is a totally different beast altogether, he is from rind to core a mass of confusion.When confronted with situations or emotions that threaten to get the better of him, he reacts in the only way best known to him : violence. He tries to find an inner meaning & solace in a lot of totally unconnected areas : Music, Sex, Soldiering, Alcohol, Farming but each tend to be a bigger disaster than the one preceding it. Eugene to me was very much akin to what a gorilla would have been in a glass factory. Leaving behind such a trail of shattered things, he escapes to Africa. It is among two of the most isolated of tribes : The Arnewi & The Wariri that the rest of his life story is penned.
One amusing character I found in the tale was of King Dahfu of the Wariri. Eugene's interactions with the King give way to some of the most mind boggling & quote worthy prose in the book. The eccentric intelligence of the King rubs off on Eugene and the first tentative roots of transformation take hold in his character. Of significant presence for the principal protagonist is also the prophecy of Daniel on Nebuchadnezzar for at all phases in life, Eugene is closely linked to the lives of animals around him.
The prose is extremly powerful and moving. While retaining the touch of a master wordsmith, Bellow creates extremely witty monologues especially in the earlier half of the book. This is easily a favorite for me !
October 3, 2019
Henderson the Rain King or, as I like to think of it, Hunter S. Thompson's African Adventure is one of those rare books that I didn't want to end. I found it powerful, beautiful, and funny. Looking through some of the negative reviews, however, I find myself confused about people's approaches toward literature. for example:
Complaint 1: Main character is a rich white guy: Can only disadvantaged minorities be interesting or have noteworthy events in their lives? Also, if every character in every book is a poor, Chinese, paraplegic lesbian then books would be just as boring as having every character be a white dude. We live in a wonderful time where minorities are represented in popular fiction more than ever. Go find those books and knock yourself out.
Complaint 2: Everyone likes Henderson right away: Henderson is an unreliable narrator.
Complaint 3: Henderson is a misogynist: Do you only read books where you agree with every single one of the main character's opinions and personality traits? Your reading life must be very dull. Also, being offended by a pretend person's views is kind of weird, isn't it?
So, if you have the complaints that I listed, then I am sure there are enough books with main characters who are poor minorities who are super nice and accepting of everyone and yet who everyone inexplicably hates for some reason out there. For everyone else who wants to be challenged by what they read, Henderson the Rain King is a modern masterpiece (or, at the very least, an entertaining and thought-provoking read).
Complaint 1: Main character is a rich white guy: Can only disadvantaged minorities be interesting or have noteworthy events in their lives? Also, if every character in every book is a poor, Chinese, paraplegic lesbian then books would be just as boring as having every character be a white dude. We live in a wonderful time where minorities are represented in popular fiction more than ever. Go find those books and knock yourself out.
Complaint 2: Everyone likes Henderson right away: Henderson is an unreliable narrator.
Complaint 3: Henderson is a misogynist: Do you only read books where you agree with every single one of the main character's opinions and personality traits? Your reading life must be very dull. Also, being offended by a pretend person's views is kind of weird, isn't it?
So, if you have the complaints that I listed, then I am sure there are enough books with main characters who are poor minorities who are super nice and accepting of everyone and yet who everyone inexplicably hates for some reason out there. For everyone else who wants to be challenged by what they read, Henderson the Rain King is a modern masterpiece (or, at the very least, an entertaining and thought-provoking read).
December 24, 2016
This is my first Saul Bellow book and while I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. I get that Henderson was on a spiritual journey to find the answers to his life's questions, and that the reader can pluck a few jewels of inspiration from Bellow's examples throughout the novel, but I've experienced that in many other novels that I enjoyed much more than this one. I think the problem I had was with Henderson's personality. He reminded me of a few people that I have known, one in particular, who always rubbed ne the wrong way.
Read
April 7, 2021A book of a brilliant comic, after all, and completely innovative, to which I cannot stick a clear label,
a book that is both serious and frivolous, that encourages an academic reading, but at the same time, ironizes it.
A quite crazy book, I could say, but not without a crazy authority.
Bellow's Africa has for Henderson - the central character - the same role as the village owned by the kafkaesque castle for K. , giving the protagonist from the outside a completely unknown test area, in which to turn his deepest desires into reality, to find - if he can - the peace of his soul, explosively, through the zeal of useful toil.
But unlike the kafkaesque man, who is constantly prevented from fulfilling his desire, Henderson constitutes the directionless human force, which a savage insistence makes her triumph.
Henderson's biography is as heavy as a millstone : a drunkard, a middle-aged billionaire, in a state of a permanent emotional revolt. He is suffocated by the chaos of " my parents, my wives, my children, my farm, my animals, my music lessons, my drunkenness, my prejudices, my soul "...
Due to all his deformities, he is, according to his own judgment, equally a Disease, not just a human being.
He leaves his home, and goes to Africa, among wild tribes, to defeat this disease, to defeat himself , through this.
Africa as a medicine.
I liked this idea, and this foray as a whole, and , as a bonus, the writing is a natural, restful one.
a book that is both serious and frivolous, that encourages an academic reading, but at the same time, ironizes it.
A quite crazy book, I could say, but not without a crazy authority.
Bellow's Africa has for Henderson - the central character - the same role as the village owned by the kafkaesque castle for K. , giving the protagonist from the outside a completely unknown test area, in which to turn his deepest desires into reality, to find - if he can - the peace of his soul, explosively, through the zeal of useful toil.
But unlike the kafkaesque man, who is constantly prevented from fulfilling his desire, Henderson constitutes the directionless human force, which a savage insistence makes her triumph.
Henderson's biography is as heavy as a millstone : a drunkard, a middle-aged billionaire, in a state of a permanent emotional revolt. He is suffocated by the chaos of " my parents, my wives, my children, my farm, my animals, my music lessons, my drunkenness, my prejudices, my soul "...
Due to all his deformities, he is, according to his own judgment, equally a Disease, not just a human being.
He leaves his home, and goes to Africa, among wild tribes, to defeat this disease, to defeat himself , through this.
Africa as a medicine.
I liked this idea, and this foray as a whole, and , as a bonus, the writing is a natural, restful one.
May 23, 2021
Siamo andati alla caccia del leon鈥� BANG BANG 鈥�
Curiosissimo e divertente romanzo di un premio Nobel che dovette pure giustificarsi per la vena comica che aveva impresso a ci貌 che aveva pensato come una sorta di favola morale. Si tratta della storia di Henderson, comunissimo e noiosissimo miliardario americano a cui sono piovute tutte le fortune del mondo e che a cinquantacinque anni 猫 oppresso da un senso di noia e di insoddisfazione tale da decidere di mollare tutto e partire per l鈥橝frica aggregandosi a una coppia di amici in viaggio di nozze. Reduce di guerra, alle spalle due matrimoni, stravagante allevatore di porci, temperamento sanguigno, in realt脿 ben presto si rivela come un personaggio a tutto tondo, per niente appiattito dal ruolo sociale che la sua biografia gli impone. Incontentabile e roso da una vocina interna che gli sussurra: 鈥淰oglio鈥�, non riesce a darsi una collocazione nel mondo. Giunto in Africa si separa dalla coppia e prosegue in solitaria il suo viaggio affidandosi a una fedele guida locale. E qui inizia il bello. L鈥橝frica si trasforma in una dimensione mitica, fatta di paesaggi da agenzia di viaggio e popolata di tutta la trasfigurazione occidentalizzante di cui siamo capaci solo noi. Iniziano le peripezie e con essa la comparsa di strampalati personaggi quasi fossimo alla corte del re dei viaggi, Swift, con il suo Gulliver. E proprio la corte 猫 uno dei luoghi centrali in cui si sviluppano le due vicende principali. Il nostro eroe della modernit脿 irrompe in un mondo, s矛 trasfigurato dai suoi stessi schemi mentali, ma anche vivo e vero e che lo sottopone a una serie di prove da superare, spesso con esito fallimentare e pericoloso per la sua stessa sopravvivenza. Non vado oltre a incuriosire il prossimo lettore di Bellow, di questo Bellow. Urge solo dire che 猫 una godibilissima lettura gestita da uno stile plasmato, oserei dire quasi cesellato, capace di alternare il registro comico con quello lirico in una sintesi magistrale atta a suscitare anche nel pi霉 distratto avventore almeno un perch茅.
Curiosissimo e divertente romanzo di un premio Nobel che dovette pure giustificarsi per la vena comica che aveva impresso a ci貌 che aveva pensato come una sorta di favola morale. Si tratta della storia di Henderson, comunissimo e noiosissimo miliardario americano a cui sono piovute tutte le fortune del mondo e che a cinquantacinque anni 猫 oppresso da un senso di noia e di insoddisfazione tale da decidere di mollare tutto e partire per l鈥橝frica aggregandosi a una coppia di amici in viaggio di nozze. Reduce di guerra, alle spalle due matrimoni, stravagante allevatore di porci, temperamento sanguigno, in realt脿 ben presto si rivela come un personaggio a tutto tondo, per niente appiattito dal ruolo sociale che la sua biografia gli impone. Incontentabile e roso da una vocina interna che gli sussurra: 鈥淰oglio鈥�, non riesce a darsi una collocazione nel mondo. Giunto in Africa si separa dalla coppia e prosegue in solitaria il suo viaggio affidandosi a una fedele guida locale. E qui inizia il bello. L鈥橝frica si trasforma in una dimensione mitica, fatta di paesaggi da agenzia di viaggio e popolata di tutta la trasfigurazione occidentalizzante di cui siamo capaci solo noi. Iniziano le peripezie e con essa la comparsa di strampalati personaggi quasi fossimo alla corte del re dei viaggi, Swift, con il suo Gulliver. E proprio la corte 猫 uno dei luoghi centrali in cui si sviluppano le due vicende principali. Il nostro eroe della modernit脿 irrompe in un mondo, s矛 trasfigurato dai suoi stessi schemi mentali, ma anche vivo e vero e che lo sottopone a una serie di prove da superare, spesso con esito fallimentare e pericoloso per la sua stessa sopravvivenza. Non vado oltre a incuriosire il prossimo lettore di Bellow, di questo Bellow. Urge solo dire che 猫 una godibilissima lettura gestita da uno stile plasmato, oserei dire quasi cesellato, capace di alternare il registro comico con quello lirico in una sintesi magistrale atta a suscitare anche nel pi霉 distratto avventore almeno un perch茅.
February 23, 2020
I just finished another bout with Eugene Henderson, this time via audiobook. And I'm so sad. This novel is like a beloved eccentric uncle to me, the one who used to be my favorite when I was younger, but as the years passed I changed and he didn't, and now I've discovered that he's slid irrevocably into maudlin self-pity, egoism, and blinding privilege. I've tried so hard to keep on loving him, but just now I can't forgive him.
I can still remember why this novel used to be my favorite, though. See below. And in spite of all this I can't not give it 5 stars because there is no prose like this any longer.
prior review--
I've read this novel many times now and each time I'm overwhelmed by the narrative force, the joy of it. I do wish someone other than the guy famous for asking "Who is the Tolstoy of the Zulus? The Proust of the Papuans?" had written it...or alternatively I wish that Henderson had gotten in a space ship and gone to Mars to have his mythological encounter rather than to a mythological Africa. Be that as it may my favorite writing of all time is the late-in-the-book chapter about a young Henderson riding a Ferris Wheel with Smolak the Bear, a scene that stands on its own as a masterpiece of narrative imagination.
I can still remember why this novel used to be my favorite, though. See below. And in spite of all this I can't not give it 5 stars because there is no prose like this any longer.
prior review--
I've read this novel many times now and each time I'm overwhelmed by the narrative force, the joy of it. I do wish someone other than the guy famous for asking "Who is the Tolstoy of the Zulus? The Proust of the Papuans?" had written it...or alternatively I wish that Henderson had gotten in a space ship and gone to Mars to have his mythological encounter rather than to a mythological Africa. Be that as it may my favorite writing of all time is the late-in-the-book chapter about a young Henderson riding a Ferris Wheel with Smolak the Bear, a scene that stands on its own as a masterpiece of narrative imagination.
May 13, 2022
"丕蹖 禺丿丕貙 丌丿賲蹖 賲孬賱 賲賳 讴賴 丨賯蹖賯鬲 亘乇丕蹖卮 噩丕蹖 孬丕亘鬲蹖 賳丿丕乇丿貙 趩胤賵乇 賲賲讴賳 丕爻鬲 乇丕賲 卮賵丿責 趩胤賵乇 賲賲讴賳 丕爻鬲"
诏丕賴蹖 賵賯鬲 賴丕 賳蹖丕夭賴 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 賵 乇賴丕讴賳蹖 賵 亘乇蹖 蹖賴 噩丕蹖 丿賵乇 蹖丕 蹖賴 爻賮乇 丿賵乇 賵 丿乇丕夭貙 丕賵賳賲 夭賲丕賳蹖 賴爻鬲 讴賴 卮賲丕 丿乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 乇賵夭賲乇賴 亘賴 禺賵丿鬲 賮乇氐鬲 鬲賵賯賮貙 丌乇丕賲卮 賵 鬲丕賲賱 讴乇丿賳 賳賲蹖丿蹖貙 丕賵賳噩丕爻鬲 讴賴 蹖賵丕卮 蹖賵丕卮 夭賳丿诏蹖 亘乇丕鬲 睾蹖乇賴 賯丕亘賱 鬲丨賲賱 賲蹖卮賴.
( 丿乇 丿賳蹖丕蹖蹖 讴賴 亘蹖讴丕乇蹖貙 丕爻鬲乇丕丨鬲貙 賵 丌乇丕賲 讴丕乇讴乇丿賳 亘蹖 丕乇夭卮蹖 丕爻鬲).
(丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 賴賲 賴賲蹖賳胤賵乇蹖 賴爻鬲 (亘毓丿 丕夭 丕蹖賳讴賴 讴鬲丕亘 禺賵賳丿賲 亘丕 賯丕胤毓蹖鬲 賲蹖 鬲賵賳賲 亘诏賲 貙 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 倬蹖卮 賮毓丕賱蹖 亘夭乇诏爻丕賱蹖 丿丕卮鬲
賵賯鬲蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 亘乇丕卮 睾蹖乇賴 賯丕亘賱 鬲丨賲賱 卮丿賴 亘賵丿 鬲氐賲蹖賲 诏乇賮鬲 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 賵 乇賴丕 讴賳賴 亘乇賴 丌賮乇蹖賯丕 卮丕蹖丿 诏賲卮丿賴鈥屫ж促� 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳賴貙 诏賲卮丿賴 丕卮 讴爻蹖 賳亘賵丿 噩夭 禺賵丿卮貙 爻丕賱賴丕 亘賵丿 亘賴 禺賵丿卮 丕噩丕夭賴 鬲丕賲賱 丿乇亘丕乇賴 禺賵丿卮 賳丿丕丿賴 亘賵丿貙 丿乇 爻賮乇 亘賵丿 讴賴 賮乇氐鬲 讴乇丿 禺賵丿卮賵 亘賴鬲乇 亘卮賳丕爻賴.
" 丕丨賲賯 噩丕賳貙 丌賳 趩蹖夭蹖 讴賴 賯丕鬲賱 噩丕賳鬲 卮丿賴貙 乇賵丨 禺賵丿 鬲賵爻鬲.
鬲賵蹖蹖 讴賴 丿丕乇蹖 丿賳蹖丕 乇丕 丕蹖賳 胤賵乇蹖 賲蹖鈥屫池ж槽�.
賵丕賯毓蹖鬲 禺賵丿 鬲賵 賴爻鬲蹖貙 禺賵丿 鬲賵."
卮蹖乇蹖 讴賴 丿乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘丕 丕賵賳 賲賵丕噩賴 卮丿賴 亘賵丿 乇賵丨 胤睾蹖丕賳 讴乇丿賴鈥屰� 禺賵丿卮 亘賵丿 讴賴 賴賲蹖卮賴 賲蹖鈥屫必驰屫� 亘丕 丕賵賳 賲賵丕噩賴 亘卮賴 賵 丨丕賱丕 鬲賵賳爻鬲賴 亘賵丿 亘丕 鬲賲丕賲 鬲乇爻鈥屬囏й屫� 賲賵丕噩賴 亘卮賴 賵 鬲乇爻 丨賯蹖賯蹖 賵 丕丨爻丕爻 讴賳賴.
丿乇 爻賮乇 賴爻鬲 讴賴 卮賲丕 丕噩丕夭賴 賲賵丕噩賴鈥屫簇� 亘丕 禺賵丿賽賵丕賯毓蹖鬲賵 倬蹖丿丕 賲蹖 讴賳蹖 賵 丿乇賵賳 禺賵丿鬲 讴賳丿賵讴丕賵 賲蹖 讴賳蹖貙 丕賵賳噩丕爻鬲 讴賴 亘丕 卮賳丕禺鬲 禺賵丿賽賵丕賯毓蹖鬲貙 鬲賲丕賲 禺賵亘蹖鈥屬囏� 賵 亘丿蹖鈥屬囏й� 禺賵丿鬲賵 賲蹖 倬匕蹖乇蹖貙 亘丿賵賳 賳蹖丕夭 亘賴 丕蹖賳讴賴 賵丕賳賲賵丿 讴賳蹖 亘丕蹖丿 趩胤賵乇 亘丕卮蹖. 爻賮乇 賳賯丕亘 丕夭 趩賴乇賴 亘乇 賲蹖丿丕乇賴.
賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 鬲氐賵乇 賲蹖 讴乇丿 賳鬲乇爻鈥屫臂屬� 丌丿賲 丿賳蹖丕爻鬲 噩賳诏 丿蹖丿賴 賵 賲丕噩乇丕噩賵貙 賵賱蹖 賮乇丕賲賵卮 讴乇丿貙 鬲乇爻 賵丕賯毓蹖 丿乇 賲賵丕噩賴 亘丕 禺賵丿 賵丕賯毓蹖爻鬲貙 丕诏乇 亘丕 丌賳 賲賵丕噩賴 卮丿蹖 賵 倬匕蹖乇丕蹖 丌賳 卮丿蹖 亘賴 丌乇丕賲卮 丨賯蹖賯蹖 賲蹖鈥屫必驰�.賵 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 亘丕 卮賳丕禺鬲 禺賵丿 丿乇 賳賴丕蹖鬲 亘賴 丌乇丕賲卮 乇爻蹖丿 賵 亘賴 夭賳丿诏蹖 亘丕夭诏卮鬲.
诏丕賴蹖 賵賯鬲 賴丕 賳蹖丕夭賴 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 賵 乇賴丕讴賳蹖 賵 亘乇蹖 蹖賴 噩丕蹖 丿賵乇 蹖丕 蹖賴 爻賮乇 丿賵乇 賵 丿乇丕夭貙 丕賵賳賲 夭賲丕賳蹖 賴爻鬲 讴賴 卮賲丕 丿乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 乇賵夭賲乇賴 亘賴 禺賵丿鬲 賮乇氐鬲 鬲賵賯賮貙 丌乇丕賲卮 賵 鬲丕賲賱 讴乇丿賳 賳賲蹖丿蹖貙 丕賵賳噩丕爻鬲 讴賴 蹖賵丕卮 蹖賵丕卮 夭賳丿诏蹖 亘乇丕鬲 睾蹖乇賴 賯丕亘賱 鬲丨賲賱 賲蹖卮賴.
( 丿乇 丿賳蹖丕蹖蹖 讴賴 亘蹖讴丕乇蹖貙 丕爻鬲乇丕丨鬲貙 賵 丌乇丕賲 讴丕乇讴乇丿賳 亘蹖 丕乇夭卮蹖 丕爻鬲).
(丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 賴賲 賴賲蹖賳胤賵乇蹖 賴爻鬲 (亘毓丿 丕夭 丕蹖賳讴賴 讴鬲丕亘 禺賵賳丿賲 亘丕 賯丕胤毓蹖鬲 賲蹖 鬲賵賳賲 亘诏賲 貙 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 倬蹖卮 賮毓丕賱蹖 亘夭乇诏爻丕賱蹖 丿丕卮鬲
賵賯鬲蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 亘乇丕卮 睾蹖乇賴 賯丕亘賱 鬲丨賲賱 卮丿賴 亘賵丿 鬲氐賲蹖賲 诏乇賮鬲 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 賵 乇賴丕 讴賳賴 亘乇賴 丌賮乇蹖賯丕 卮丕蹖丿 诏賲卮丿賴鈥屫ж促� 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳賴貙 诏賲卮丿賴 丕卮 讴爻蹖 賳亘賵丿 噩夭 禺賵丿卮貙 爻丕賱賴丕 亘賵丿 亘賴 禺賵丿卮 丕噩丕夭賴 鬲丕賲賱 丿乇亘丕乇賴 禺賵丿卮 賳丿丕丿賴 亘賵丿貙 丿乇 爻賮乇 亘賵丿 讴賴 賮乇氐鬲 讴乇丿 禺賵丿卮賵 亘賴鬲乇 亘卮賳丕爻賴.
" 丕丨賲賯 噩丕賳貙 丌賳 趩蹖夭蹖 讴賴 賯丕鬲賱 噩丕賳鬲 卮丿賴貙 乇賵丨 禺賵丿 鬲賵爻鬲.
鬲賵蹖蹖 讴賴 丿丕乇蹖 丿賳蹖丕 乇丕 丕蹖賳 胤賵乇蹖 賲蹖鈥屫池ж槽�.
賵丕賯毓蹖鬲 禺賵丿 鬲賵 賴爻鬲蹖貙 禺賵丿 鬲賵."
卮蹖乇蹖 讴賴 丿乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘丕 丕賵賳 賲賵丕噩賴 卮丿賴 亘賵丿 乇賵丨 胤睾蹖丕賳 讴乇丿賴鈥屰� 禺賵丿卮 亘賵丿 讴賴 賴賲蹖卮賴 賲蹖鈥屫必驰屫� 亘丕 丕賵賳 賲賵丕噩賴 亘卮賴 賵 丨丕賱丕 鬲賵賳爻鬲賴 亘賵丿 亘丕 鬲賲丕賲 鬲乇爻鈥屬囏й屫� 賲賵丕噩賴 亘卮賴 賵 鬲乇爻 丨賯蹖賯蹖 賵 丕丨爻丕爻 讴賳賴.
丿乇 爻賮乇 賴爻鬲 讴賴 卮賲丕 丕噩丕夭賴 賲賵丕噩賴鈥屫簇� 亘丕 禺賵丿賽賵丕賯毓蹖鬲賵 倬蹖丿丕 賲蹖 讴賳蹖 賵 丿乇賵賳 禺賵丿鬲 讴賳丿賵讴丕賵 賲蹖 讴賳蹖貙 丕賵賳噩丕爻鬲 讴賴 亘丕 卮賳丕禺鬲 禺賵丿賽賵丕賯毓蹖鬲貙 鬲賲丕賲 禺賵亘蹖鈥屬囏� 賵 亘丿蹖鈥屬囏й� 禺賵丿鬲賵 賲蹖 倬匕蹖乇蹖貙 亘丿賵賳 賳蹖丕夭 亘賴 丕蹖賳讴賴 賵丕賳賲賵丿 讴賳蹖 亘丕蹖丿 趩胤賵乇 亘丕卮蹖. 爻賮乇 賳賯丕亘 丕夭 趩賴乇賴 亘乇 賲蹖丿丕乇賴.
賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 鬲氐賵乇 賲蹖 讴乇丿 賳鬲乇爻鈥屫臂屬� 丌丿賲 丿賳蹖丕爻鬲 噩賳诏 丿蹖丿賴 賵 賲丕噩乇丕噩賵貙 賵賱蹖 賮乇丕賲賵卮 讴乇丿貙 鬲乇爻 賵丕賯毓蹖 丿乇 賲賵丕噩賴 亘丕 禺賵丿 賵丕賯毓蹖爻鬲貙 丕诏乇 亘丕 丌賳 賲賵丕噩賴 卮丿蹖 賵 倬匕蹖乇丕蹖 丌賳 卮丿蹖 亘賴 丌乇丕賲卮 丨賯蹖賯蹖 賲蹖鈥屫必驰�.賵 賴賳丿乇爻賵賳 亘丕 卮賳丕禺鬲 禺賵丿 丿乇 賳賴丕蹖鬲 亘賴 丌乇丕賲卮 乇爻蹖丿 賵 亘賴 夭賳丿诏蹖 亘丕夭诏卮鬲.
February 17, 2020
Now I am grumpy. I have been struggling to understand what Bellow was saying with this book. Giving up in the middle was to acknowledge defeat. Now, on completion, I have come to the conclusion it was a total waste of time.
The book is said to be a comic adventure story. In fact, that is all it is. As you read, assorted philosophical themes are hinted at. I mistakenly thought that the book might have something of value to say. Why? Well because we are often in the central character鈥檚 head. He is a thinking sort of guy, and he travels to Africa. He ought to have something of consequence to tell us!
So, who is the central character? He is twice married and in his middle fifties. He has four kids. He goes by the name of Eugene Henderson. Yep, that is him in the title. He is your typical Bellowian schmuck, but in this novel, also exceedingly wealthy, strong and handsome. A thinker too, which misleads readers!
Henderson ponders suffering, death and the whole purpose of life. He goes off to Africa to find himself. He has so much money he doesn鈥檛 need to work, as most everyone else must do.
What is drawn is absurd, totally beyond believability. It borders on fantasy. Forget trying to understand the book in terms of the ordinary criteria of reality. Perhaps Bellow is saying something about reality. Maybe that what each person sees as reality is defined by their own life circumstances. As a result, we each define realty differently. Take this a step further--that which may seem absurd and fantastical to one could be reality to another. My thoughts follow this path because the villagers' lives in Africa are difficult to view as possible. Or maybe, I am just desperately searching to give the book a meaning it doesn't have.
The humor is a mix of both the crude and the intellectual. One I like, the other I don鈥檛. It is not without humor, but most of what happens is simply so absurd it is hard to get your head around events, let alone laugh.
The story is too long and drawn out; it needs tighter editing.
On reaching the end, by observing how events are tied up, the book鈥檚 message is revealed. What is said is corny and pedestrian. The ending is shockingly bad, Henderson returns ! Tell me, is that even the teeniest bit realistic?!
Besides Henderson鈥檚 schmaltzy decision , absurd and fantastical events unroll at the story鈥檚 close. They are bizarre and totally unnecessary extensions of the tale--a dancing bear and a young Persian-speaking orphan boy who snuggles up asleep on Henderson鈥檚 lap . Add on that the two are accompanied by a lion cub and aided by a sweet, understanding and of course pretty air hostess! The ending, in my view, just couldn鈥檛 have been worse!
I was wrong to assume Bellow was actually saying something of importance with this novel! I believe readers are simply to laugh, but the story is just too weird for me to laugh at. Its humor is not my kind of humor. At Wikipedia I found this:
鈥淎 week before the novel appeared in book stores, Saul Bellow published an article in the New York Times entitled 鈥楾he Search for Symbols, a Writer Warns, Misses All the Fun and Fact of the Story鈥�. Here, Bellow warns readers against looking too deeply for symbols in literature. This has led to much discussion among critics as to why Bellow warned his readers against searching for symbolism just before the symbol-packed Rain King hit the shelves.鈥�
Reading this has been a chore. I have searched to find a reason to like it. I have failed.
Joe Barrett narrates the audiobook. I dislike his dramatization, particularly of the native Africans. French words are not translated, and Barrett鈥檚 French is deplorable. Maybe we are meant to laugh at this too. Since, it is not hard to follow the limes of the text, I am willing to give the narration two stars.
* 4 stars
* 4 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 2 stars
* 2 stars
* 2 stars
* 1 star
* maybe
* maybe
The book is said to be a comic adventure story. In fact, that is all it is. As you read, assorted philosophical themes are hinted at. I mistakenly thought that the book might have something of value to say. Why? Well because we are often in the central character鈥檚 head. He is a thinking sort of guy, and he travels to Africa. He ought to have something of consequence to tell us!
So, who is the central character? He is twice married and in his middle fifties. He has four kids. He goes by the name of Eugene Henderson. Yep, that is him in the title. He is your typical Bellowian schmuck, but in this novel, also exceedingly wealthy, strong and handsome. A thinker too, which misleads readers!
Henderson ponders suffering, death and the whole purpose of life. He goes off to Africa to find himself. He has so much money he doesn鈥檛 need to work, as most everyone else must do.
What is drawn is absurd, totally beyond believability. It borders on fantasy. Forget trying to understand the book in terms of the ordinary criteria of reality. Perhaps Bellow is saying something about reality. Maybe that what each person sees as reality is defined by their own life circumstances. As a result, we each define realty differently. Take this a step further--that which may seem absurd and fantastical to one could be reality to another. My thoughts follow this path because the villagers' lives in Africa are difficult to view as possible. Or maybe, I am just desperately searching to give the book a meaning it doesn't have.
The humor is a mix of both the crude and the intellectual. One I like, the other I don鈥檛. It is not without humor, but most of what happens is simply so absurd it is hard to get your head around events, let alone laugh.
The story is too long and drawn out; it needs tighter editing.
On reaching the end, by observing how events are tied up, the book鈥檚 message is revealed. What is said is corny and pedestrian. The ending is shockingly bad, Henderson returns ! Tell me, is that even the teeniest bit realistic?!
Besides Henderson鈥檚 schmaltzy decision , absurd and fantastical events unroll at the story鈥檚 close. They are bizarre and totally unnecessary extensions of the tale--a dancing bear and a young Persian-speaking orphan boy who snuggles up asleep on Henderson鈥檚 lap . Add on that the two are accompanied by a lion cub and aided by a sweet, understanding and of course pretty air hostess! The ending, in my view, just couldn鈥檛 have been worse!
I was wrong to assume Bellow was actually saying something of importance with this novel! I believe readers are simply to laugh, but the story is just too weird for me to laugh at. Its humor is not my kind of humor. At Wikipedia I found this:
鈥淎 week before the novel appeared in book stores, Saul Bellow published an article in the New York Times entitled 鈥楾he Search for Symbols, a Writer Warns, Misses All the Fun and Fact of the Story鈥�. Here, Bellow warns readers against looking too deeply for symbols in literature. This has led to much discussion among critics as to why Bellow warned his readers against searching for symbolism just before the symbol-packed Rain King hit the shelves.鈥�
Reading this has been a chore. I have searched to find a reason to like it. I have failed.
Joe Barrett narrates the audiobook. I dislike his dramatization, particularly of the native Africans. French words are not translated, and Barrett鈥檚 French is deplorable. Maybe we are meant to laugh at this too. Since, it is not hard to follow the limes of the text, I am willing to give the narration two stars.
* 4 stars
* 4 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 2 stars
* 2 stars
* 2 stars
* 1 star
* maybe
* maybe
December 17, 2012
This novel is staggering. It is the story, which we have heard so many times, of a bellicose foreigner who goes to Africa in order to find himself. But something is amiss. This isn't just some person who has lost their way a little bit, but someone that while good intentioned at times is a drunkard and a lout, selfish and violent; while he wants to be a good person, he simply isn't. Then he decides to ditch the tourist Africa and find the true heart of it in order to understand and heal himself, but when he arrives at a remote village with his guide and meets the prince of a very small and location, he is disappointed to hear him speaking English. "We are discovered," the prince says, apologizing.
What follows is a continued parody of the philosophical finding of one's self in a foreign country trope. Intentions to fix the villagers foolish superstition (as deemed by Henderson) lead to a larger disaster and another superstition (which, truly, he discovers, is merely a form of control for a group of powerful individuals) which leads him to being the Rain King. The ideas further collapse as in the heart of Africa Henderson is lectured in psychology and philosophy and biology by the almost-doctor King.
With lush prose and richly rendered, flawed and three dimensional main characters, Bellow provides a satire that is surprisingly erudite and logical and it seeks to undermine the genre it is masked in not by silly exaggerations, but by subtle turnings of expectation. This slim volume is certainly one of the best books of the last fifty years.
What follows is a continued parody of the philosophical finding of one's self in a foreign country trope. Intentions to fix the villagers foolish superstition (as deemed by Henderson) lead to a larger disaster and another superstition (which, truly, he discovers, is merely a form of control for a group of powerful individuals) which leads him to being the Rain King. The ideas further collapse as in the heart of Africa Henderson is lectured in psychology and philosophy and biology by the almost-doctor King.
With lush prose and richly rendered, flawed and three dimensional main characters, Bellow provides a satire that is surprisingly erudite and logical and it seeks to undermine the genre it is masked in not by silly exaggerations, but by subtle turnings of expectation. This slim volume is certainly one of the best books of the last fifty years.
July 27, 2014
I want therefore I am - Bellow鈥檚 version of Descartes鈥� proposition. Eugene Henderson鈥檚 trip is a Hemingway parody and a satirical allegory of our search for self sprinkled with beautiful writing that touches the soul. It both makes fun of the contemporary pursuit of being real and seriously questions our values. The story is fanciful but purposeful. Henderson鈥檚 boorishness and bombastic outbursts can become tiresome (just like the original EH) but Bellow鈥檚 poetic prose always comes to the rescue offering something deeper. Somehow the incongruous juxtaposition got me reflecting on my own life and that made it worthwhile.
February 7, 2017
I am a steady admirer of Saul Bellow and this since I read, some thirty years ago, 鈥淗umboldt鈥檚 Gift鈥�. And I was thinking, while reading 鈥淗enderson, the Rain King鈥� how important (although irrelevant) is the first reading of an author. For if I had read this book first, I doubt I have ever tried another. Not because it is bad, but because it didn鈥檛 say much to me. As a complex parody it was sometimes boring instead of funny, even though I quite liked the idea of an anti superhero (I don鈥檛 know if Bellow is the first to introduce him in literature, but it sure was the first I came across). On the other hand, the African tribal experience felt somehow deprecatory, its dark and black magic childish enough to border ridicule.
All along I felt the author tried his hand a little half-hearted, and I struggled to finish it out of respect for him.
All along I felt the author tried his hand a little half-hearted, and I struggled to finish it out of respect for him.
December 21, 2022
鈥淢aybe time was invented so that misery might have an end?鈥�
Eugene Henderson could possibly be the most magnificent protagonist since Fitzgerald conjured up Jay Gatsby. Henderson is a hot mess. He鈥檚 rich, he鈥檚 strong, he鈥檚 bursting with testosterone, and yet he鈥檚 hopelessly well-intentioned and painfully lovable. This is every bit as good as Bellow鈥檚 Seize the Day, if not just a wee bit better!
Eugene Henderson could possibly be the most magnificent protagonist since Fitzgerald conjured up Jay Gatsby. Henderson is a hot mess. He鈥檚 rich, he鈥檚 strong, he鈥檚 bursting with testosterone, and yet he鈥檚 hopelessly well-intentioned and painfully lovable. This is every bit as good as Bellow鈥檚 Seize the Day, if not just a wee bit better!
June 3, 2022
I just finished another bout with Eugene Henderson, this time via audiobook. And I'm so sad. This novel is like a beloved eccentric uncle to me, the one who used to be my favorite when I was younger, but as the years passed I changed and he didn't, and now I've discovered that he's slid irrevocably into maudlin self-pity, egoism, and blinding privilege. I've tried so hard to keep on loving him, but just now I can't forgive him.
I can still remember why this novel used to be my favorite, though. See below.
prior review--
I've read this novel many times now and each time I'm overwhelmed by the narrative force, the joy of it. I do wish someone other than the guy famous for asking "Who is the Tolstoy of the Zulus? The Proust of the Papuans?" had written it...or alternatively I wish that Henderson had gotten in a space ship and gone to Mars to have his mythological encounter rather than to a mythological Africa. Be that as it may my favorite writing of all time is the late-in-the-book chapter about a young Henderson riding a Ferris Wheel with Smolak the Bear, a scene that stands on its own as a masterpiece of narrative imagination.
I can still remember why this novel used to be my favorite, though. See below.
prior review--
I've read this novel many times now and each time I'm overwhelmed by the narrative force, the joy of it. I do wish someone other than the guy famous for asking "Who is the Tolstoy of the Zulus? The Proust of the Papuans?" had written it...or alternatively I wish that Henderson had gotten in a space ship and gone to Mars to have his mythological encounter rather than to a mythological Africa. Be that as it may my favorite writing of all time is the late-in-the-book chapter about a young Henderson riding a Ferris Wheel with Smolak the Bear, a scene that stands on its own as a masterpiece of narrative imagination.
Read
August 18, 2018Abbandonato, non fa per me.
Stile formidabile. Storia datata su un ricco pazzo, un ereditiere violento e donnaiolo, che decide di combattere i suoi demoni partendo per un viaggio spirituale in Africa.
Il protagonista 猫 spregevole e misogino, purtroppo per貌 non ha altre qualit脿.
Roth con personaggi anche pi霉 meschini ci ha scritto dei romanzi grandiosi.
Henderson 猫 un piangina noioso con i soliti first world problem a cui tutti inspiegabilmente cadono ai piedi.
Stile formidabile. Storia datata su un ricco pazzo, un ereditiere violento e donnaiolo, che decide di combattere i suoi demoni partendo per un viaggio spirituale in Africa.
Il protagonista 猫 spregevole e misogino, purtroppo per貌 non ha altre qualit脿.
Roth con personaggi anche pi霉 meschini ci ha scritto dei romanzi grandiosi.
Henderson 猫 un piangina noioso con i soliti first world problem a cui tutti inspiegabilmente cadono ai piedi.
November 9, 2017
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been crying, I've been thinking
And I am the rain king
-Counting Crows
Just a great novel from a top American writer. Quite funny also.
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been crying, I've been thinking
And I am the rain king
-Counting Crows
Just a great novel from a top American writer. Quite funny also.
May 30, 2023
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March 30, 2022
醿斸儭 醿愥儬 醿愥儬醿樶儭 醿┽儠醿斸儯醿氠償醿戓儬醿樶儠醿� 醿儤醿掅儨醿�. 醿儤醿掅儨醿斸儜醿�, 醿犪儩醿涐儦醿斸儜醿樶儶 醿儛醿氠儤醿愥儨醿愥儶 醿涐儩醿涐儸醿濁儨醿斸儜醿樶儛 醿撫儛 醿メ償醿戓儛-醿撫儤醿撫償醿戓儛 醿愥儬 醿撫儛醿涐儤醿ㄡ儯醿犪償醿戓儤醿�, 醿涐儬醿愥儠醿愥儦醿樶儛, 醿涐儛醿掅儬醿愥儧 醿斸儭 醿儤醿掅儨醿� 醿戓償醿曖儬醿愥儞 醿涐償醿⑨儤醿� 醿樶儧 醿п儠醿斸儦醿愥儰醿斸儬醿栣償, 醿犪儤醿♂儤 醿掅儛醿撫儧醿濁儶醿斸儧醿愥儶 醿♂儤醿⑨儳醿曖償醿戓儤醿� 醿ㄡ償醿樶儷醿氠償醿戓儛.
醿儛醿氠儤醿愥儨 醿撫儤醿溼儛醿涐儤醿ａ儬醿� 醿♂儛醿欋儤醿椺儺醿愥儠醿樶儛, 醿愥儧醿戓儛醿曖儤 醿戓儩醿氠儩醿涐儞醿�, 醿♂儬醿ａ儦醿愥儞 醿掅儤醿炨儳醿犪儩醿戓儭 醿撫儛 醿掅儛醿樶儨醿⑨償醿犪償醿♂償醿戓儭. 醿♂儛醿濁儶醿犪儛醿� 醿涐儞醿樶儞醿愥儬醿�, 醿栣儩醿掅儛醿撫儭醿愥儥醿愥儶醿濁儜醿犪儤醿� 醿椺償醿涐償醿戓儤醿� 醿撫儛醿⑨儠醿樶儬醿椺儯醿氠儤 醿儤醿掅儨醿樶儛. 醿п儠醿斸儦醿愥儰醿斸儬醿� 醿掅儛醿溼儭醿儠醿愥儠醿斸儜醿ａ儦 醿儬醿樶儦醿ㄡ儤醿� 醿掅儛醿溼儺醿樶儦醿ａ儦醿� 醿撫儛 醿掅儛醿愥儢醿犪償醿戓儯醿氠儤.
醿溼儛醿涐儞醿曖儤醿氠儛醿�, 醿掅儯醿氠儸醿犪儰醿斸儦醿愥儞, 醿愥儬 醿涐儛醿儭醿斸儨醿撫償醿戓儛 醿涐償醿め償 醿撫儛醿搬儰醿ａ儭 醿涐儭醿掅儛醿曖儭醿� 醿炨償醿犪儭醿濁儨醿愥儫醿�, 醿ａ儥醿樶儞醿斸儝醿愥儨醿� 醿掅儛醿溼儛醿椺儦醿斸儜醿樶儣醿� 醿撫儛 醿愥儬醿愥儩醿犪儞醿樶儨醿愥儬醿ａ儦醿� 醿ㄡ償醿償醿撫儯醿氠償醿戓償醿戓儤醿�. 醿♂儛醿涐儳醿愥儬醿濁儭 醿♂儛醿濁儶醿愥儬醿� 醿愥儲醿メ儧醿� 醿愥儱醿曖儭 醿撫儛 醿ａ儢醿濁儧醿濁儞 醿掅儛醿儩醿溼儛醿♂儸醿濁儬醿斸儜醿ａ儦醿樶儛. 醿撫儤醿撫償醿戓儯醿氠儤 醿涐償醿掅儩醿戓儛醿犪儤, 醿♂儯醿氠儤醿斸儬醿愥儞 醿儦醿樶償醿犪儤 醿儤醿溼儛醿涐儷醿︶儩醿氠儤 醿撫儛 醿ㄡ償醿♂儛醿ㄡ儯醿犪儛醿� 醿涐儴醿曖儤醿撫儤, 醿搬儛醿犪儧醿濁儨醿樶儯醿氠儤 醿♂儯醿氠儤醿� 醿炨儛醿⑨儬醿濁儨醿樶儛. 醿樶儯醿儤醿溼儤 醿椺儛醿曖儛醿� 醿愥儧醿戓儩醿戓儭, 醿犪儩醿� 醿涐儛醿♂儛 醿撫儛 醿涐償醿め償醿� 醿ㄡ儩醿犪儤醿� 醿ㄡ償醿涐儞醿掅儛醿犪儤 醿撫儤醿愥儦醿濁儝醿斸儜醿樶儭 醿涐儭醿掅儛醿曖儭醿� 醿曖償醿犪儭醿愥儞 醿愥儧醿濁儤醿欋儤醿椺儺醿愥儠醿� - 醿涐儛醿犪儣醿氠儛醿� 醿愥儭醿斸儛. 醿♂儛醿濁儶醿愥儬醿樶儛, 醿犪儩醿掅儩醿� 醿掅儛醿撫儛醿ㄡ儦醿樶儦醿� 醿儤醿掅儨醿樶儠醿樶儣 醿欋儤醿椺儺醿ａ儦醿濁儜醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼償醿戓儭 醿撫儛 醿斸儭醿涐儤醿� 醿涐儛醿椺儤. 醿ａ儬醿п償醿曖儛醿� 醿♂儸醿愥儧醿�, 醿犪儩醿� 醿濁儞醿斸儭醿涐償 醿戓儩醿犪儩醿⑨償醿戓儤醿� 醿炨儛醿♂儯醿儛醿� 醿戓儩醿犪儩醿⑨償醿戓儛醿� 醿愥儲醿愥儬 醿涐儤醿曖儤醿︶償醿戓儣 醿撫儛 醿愥儧醿メ儠醿斸儳醿溼儛醿� 醿欋償醿椺儤醿氠儴醿濁儜醿樶儦醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼償醿戓儤醿� 醿撫儬醿� 醿撫儛醿撫儝醿斸儜醿�. 醿♂儻醿斸儬醿�, 醿犪儩醿� 醿ㄡ償醿♂儛醿儦醿斸儜醿斸儦醿樶儛, 醿п儠醿斸儦醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼儤 醿ㄡ償醿樶儶醿曖儛醿氠儩醿�, 醿掅儛醿溼儯醿犪儵醿斸儠醿氠儛醿� 醿愥儭醿愥儥醿樶儭醿� 醿椺儯 醿┽儛醿涐儩醿п儛醿氠儤醿戓償醿戓儤醿� 醿儛醿犪儤醿♂儺醿樶儭醿�.
醿曖償醿氠儯醿�, 醿償醿氠儴醿斸儯醿償醿戓償醿� 醿涐儴醿曖償醿溼儤醿斸儬醿斸儜醿愥儭醿愥儶 醿欋儤 醿涐儣醿斸儦醿� 醿愥儬醿♂償醿戓儤醿� 醿愥儲醿樶儱醿曖儛醿涐儭 醿撫儛 醿樶儲醿斸儜醿�. 醿ㄡ儤醿ㄡ儤醿♂儝醿愥儨 醿撫儛醿儦醿樶儦醿樶儛. 醿涐儤醿愥儵醿溼儤醿�, 醿犪儩醿� 醿愥儬醿♂償醿戓儩醿戓儛 醿ａ儥醿曖償 醿椺儛醿曖儤醿♂儣醿愥儠醿愥儞 醿ㄡ儛醿溼儭醿樶儛. 醿ㄡ儛醿溼儭醿樶儛, 醿儠醿氠儤醿氠償醿戓儤醿� 醿掅儛醿犪償醿ㄡ償, 醿斸儬醿椺儤 醿撫儛 醿樶儧醿愥儠醿� 醿涐儤醿♂儸醿犪儛醿め償醿戓償醿戓儤醿� 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儤醿� 醿ａ儭醿愥儭醿犪儯醿氠儩 醿儤醿欋儦醿樶儭 醿撫儛醿犪儲醿曖償醿曖儤醿♂儛 醿撫儛 醿♂儛醿欋儯醿椺儛醿犪儤 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儤醿� 醿涐儩醿曖儦醿斸儨醿斸儜醿樶儭 醿♂儯醿犪儠醿樶儦醿樶儭醿愥儧醿斸儜醿� 醿儛醿犪儧醿愥儬醿椺儠醿樶儭.
醿♂儩醿� 醿戓償醿氠儩醿ａ儭 醿♂儛醿濁儶醿犪儛醿� 醿愥儱醿曖儭 醿掅儛醿撫儧醿濁儶醿斸儧醿ａ儦醿� 醿愥儰醿犪儤醿欋儤醿� 醿斸儭醿椺償醿⑨儤醿欋儛 - 醿愥儧醿濁儬醿儛醿氠償醿戓儤醿� 醿撫儛 醿⑨儛醿溼儧醿濁儺醿愥儮醿ａ儦醿�, 醿♂儤醿儩醿儺醿氠儤醿� 醿♂儛醿曖儭醿�, 醿愥儬醿愥儩醿犪儞醿樶儨醿愥儦醿ａ儬醿愥儞 醿ㄡ償醿涐儩醿♂儤醿氠儤, 醿︶儠醿椺儛醿斸儜醿斸儜醿樶儭 醿メ儛醿溼儞醿愥儥醿斸儜醿斸儜醿樶儭 醿掅儛醿犪儴醿斸儧醿� 醿掅儤醿熱儯醿犪儛醿� 醿涐儬醿濁儥醿愥儠醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼償醿戓儤醿�.
醿椺儛醿曖儛醿� 醿搬償醿溼儞醿斸儬醿♂儩醿溼儤, 醿曖儰醿樶儱醿犪儩醿�, 醿犪儩醿涐儛醿溼儤醿� 醿п儠醿斸儦醿愥儢醿� 醿♂儛醿樶儨醿⑨償醿犪償醿♂儩 醿炨償醿犪儭醿濁儨醿愥儫醿樶儛 - 醿椺儛醿曖儤醿♂儤 醿掅儛醿溼儠醿氠儤醿氠儤 醿掅儢醿樶儣. 醿椺儛醿曖儞醿愥優醿樶儬醿曖償醿氠儛醿�, 醿掅儛醿ａ儸醿濁儨醿愥儭醿儩醿犪償醿戓償醿氠儤 醿儛醿♂儤醿愥儣醿樶儣, 醿愥儰醿犪儤醿欋儛醿ㄡ儤 醿儛醿♂儠醿氠儤醿� 醿撫儛醿ａ儩醿欋償醿戓償醿氠儤 醿♂儯醿犪儠醿樶儦醿樶儣, 醿犪儩醿涐償醿氠儤醿� 醿樶儧醿斸儞醿愥儞 醿搬儱醿償醿曖儤醿�, 醿犪儛醿椺儛 醿♂儯醿氠儤醿� 醿儛醿儤醿氠儤 醿┽儛醿愥儺醿ㄡ儩醿� 醿撫儛 醿♂儛醿欋儯醿椺儛醿犪儤 醿椺儛醿曖儤 醿樶優醿濁儠醿濁儭. 醿搬償醿溼儞醿斸儬醿♂儩醿溼儤 醿樶儭 醿欋儛醿儤醿�, 醿犪儩醿涐償醿氠儭醿愥儶 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儛 醿♂儸醿п儯醿犪儤醿�; 醿涐儤醿愥儵醿溼儤醿�, 醿犪儩醿� 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儛 醿メ儛醿濁儭醿栣償 醿戓償醿曖儬醿愥儞 醿涐償醿⑨儤醿� 醿撫儛 醿犪儩醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼儤 醿涐儺醿濁儦醿濁儞 醿樶儧醿樶儮醿濁儧 醿愥儬 醿樶儜醿愥儞醿斸儜醿�, 醿涐儣醿斸儦醿� 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儛 鈥炨儧醿п儩醿め儩醿戓儛醿ㄡ儤鈥� 醿掅儛醿氠儤醿濁儭 醿撫儛 醿愥儬 醿掅儛醿樶儛醿犪儩醿� 醿┽儛醿涐儩醿п儛醿氠儤醿戓償醿戓儤醿�, 醿♂儛醿欋儯醿椺儛醿� 醿椺儛醿曖儣醿愥儨 醿涐儤醿愥儺醿氠儩醿斸儜醿樶儭, 醿掅儛醿溼儛醿儦醿斸儜醿樶儭醿� 醿撫儛 醿♂儯醿氠儤醿斸儬醿� 醿愥儲醿撫儝醿濁儧醿樶儭 醿炨儬醿濁儶醿斸儭醿�.
醿椺儤醿椺儱醿濁儭 醿п儠醿斸儦醿愥儰醿斸儬醿� 醿曖儣醿メ儠醿�, 醿涐儛醿掅儬醿愥儧 醿曖儺醿曖儞醿斸儜醿�, 醿♂儤醿⑨儳醿曖償醿戓儤 醿愥儬 醿愥儬醿樶儭 醿♂儛醿欋儧醿愥儬醿樶儭醿� 醿欋儤醿椺儺醿曖儤醿♂儛醿� 醿涐儤醿︶償醿戓儯醿氠儤 醿斸儧醿濁儶醿樶償醿戓儤醿� 醿掅儛醿撫儧醿濁儭醿愥儶醿斸儧醿愥儞 醿撫儛 醿涐儸醿斸儬醿氠儤醿� 醿♂儛醿涐儛醿撫儦醿濁儜醿氠儛醿�, 醿┽償醿涐儤 醿愥儸 醿ａ儥醿曖償 醿♂儛醿п儠醿愥儬醿斸儦醿� 醿儤醿掅儨醿樶儭 醿撫儛醿償醿犪儤醿♂儛醿椺儠醿樶儭.
醿儛醿氠儤醿愥儨 醿撫儤醿溼儛醿涐儤醿ａ儬醿� 醿♂儛醿欋儤醿椺儺醿愥儠醿樶儛, 醿愥儧醿戓儛醿曖儤 醿戓儩醿氠儩醿涐儞醿�, 醿♂儬醿ａ儦醿愥儞 醿掅儤醿炨儳醿犪儩醿戓儭 醿撫儛 醿掅儛醿樶儨醿⑨償醿犪償醿♂償醿戓儭. 醿♂儛醿濁儶醿犪儛醿� 醿涐儞醿樶儞醿愥儬醿�, 醿栣儩醿掅儛醿撫儭醿愥儥醿愥儶醿濁儜醿犪儤醿� 醿椺償醿涐償醿戓儤醿� 醿撫儛醿⑨儠醿樶儬醿椺儯醿氠儤 醿儤醿掅儨醿樶儛. 醿п儠醿斸儦醿愥儰醿斸儬醿� 醿掅儛醿溼儭醿儠醿愥儠醿斸儜醿ａ儦 醿儬醿樶儦醿ㄡ儤醿� 醿掅儛醿溼儺醿樶儦醿ａ儦醿� 醿撫儛 醿掅儛醿愥儢醿犪償醿戓儯醿氠儤.
醿溼儛醿涐儞醿曖儤醿氠儛醿�, 醿掅儯醿氠儸醿犪儰醿斸儦醿愥儞, 醿愥儬 醿涐儛醿儭醿斸儨醿撫償醿戓儛 醿涐償醿め償 醿撫儛醿搬儰醿ａ儭 醿涐儭醿掅儛醿曖儭醿� 醿炨償醿犪儭醿濁儨醿愥儫醿�, 醿ａ儥醿樶儞醿斸儝醿愥儨醿� 醿掅儛醿溼儛醿椺儦醿斸儜醿樶儣醿� 醿撫儛 醿愥儬醿愥儩醿犪儞醿樶儨醿愥儬醿ａ儦醿� 醿ㄡ償醿償醿撫儯醿氠償醿戓償醿戓儤醿�. 醿♂儛醿涐儳醿愥儬醿濁儭 醿♂儛醿濁儶醿愥儬醿� 醿愥儲醿メ儧醿� 醿愥儱醿曖儭 醿撫儛 醿ａ儢醿濁儧醿濁儞 醿掅儛醿儩醿溼儛醿♂儸醿濁儬醿斸儜醿ａ儦醿樶儛. 醿撫儤醿撫償醿戓儯醿氠儤 醿涐償醿掅儩醿戓儛醿犪儤, 醿♂儯醿氠儤醿斸儬醿愥儞 醿儦醿樶償醿犪儤 醿儤醿溼儛醿涐儷醿︶儩醿氠儤 醿撫儛 醿ㄡ償醿♂儛醿ㄡ儯醿犪儛醿� 醿涐儴醿曖儤醿撫儤, 醿搬儛醿犪儧醿濁儨醿樶儯醿氠儤 醿♂儯醿氠儤醿� 醿炨儛醿⑨儬醿濁儨醿樶儛. 醿樶儯醿儤醿溼儤 醿椺儛醿曖儛醿� 醿愥儧醿戓儩醿戓儭, 醿犪儩醿� 醿涐儛醿♂儛 醿撫儛 醿涐償醿め償醿� 醿ㄡ儩醿犪儤醿� 醿ㄡ償醿涐儞醿掅儛醿犪儤 醿撫儤醿愥儦醿濁儝醿斸儜醿樶儭 醿涐儭醿掅儛醿曖儭醿� 醿曖償醿犪儭醿愥儞 醿愥儧醿濁儤醿欋儤醿椺儺醿愥儠醿� - 醿涐儛醿犪儣醿氠儛醿� 醿愥儭醿斸儛. 醿♂儛醿濁儶醿愥儬醿樶儛, 醿犪儩醿掅儩醿� 醿掅儛醿撫儛醿ㄡ儦醿樶儦醿� 醿儤醿掅儨醿樶儠醿樶儣 醿欋儤醿椺儺醿ａ儦醿濁儜醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼償醿戓儭 醿撫儛 醿斸儭醿涐儤醿� 醿涐儛醿椺儤. 醿ａ儬醿п償醿曖儛醿� 醿♂儸醿愥儧醿�, 醿犪儩醿� 醿濁儞醿斸儭醿涐償 醿戓儩醿犪儩醿⑨償醿戓儤醿� 醿炨儛醿♂儯醿儛醿� 醿戓儩醿犪儩醿⑨償醿戓儛醿� 醿愥儲醿愥儬 醿涐儤醿曖儤醿︶償醿戓儣 醿撫儛 醿愥儧醿メ儠醿斸儳醿溼儛醿� 醿欋償醿椺儤醿氠儴醿濁儜醿樶儦醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼償醿戓儤醿� 醿撫儬醿� 醿撫儛醿撫儝醿斸儜醿�. 醿♂儻醿斸儬醿�, 醿犪儩醿� 醿ㄡ償醿♂儛醿儦醿斸儜醿斸儦醿樶儛, 醿п儠醿斸儦醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼儤 醿ㄡ償醿樶儶醿曖儛醿氠儩醿�, 醿掅儛醿溼儯醿犪儵醿斸儠醿氠儛醿� 醿愥儭醿愥儥醿樶儭醿� 醿椺儯 醿┽儛醿涐儩醿п儛醿氠儤醿戓償醿戓儤醿� 醿儛醿犪儤醿♂儺醿樶儭醿�.
醿曖償醿氠儯醿�, 醿償醿氠儴醿斸儯醿償醿戓償醿� 醿涐儴醿曖償醿溼儤醿斸儬醿斸儜醿愥儭醿愥儶 醿欋儤 醿涐儣醿斸儦醿� 醿愥儬醿♂償醿戓儤醿� 醿愥儲醿樶儱醿曖儛醿涐儭 醿撫儛 醿樶儲醿斸儜醿�. 醿ㄡ儤醿ㄡ儤醿♂儝醿愥儨 醿撫儛醿儦醿樶儦醿樶儛. 醿涐儤醿愥儵醿溼儤醿�, 醿犪儩醿� 醿愥儬醿♂償醿戓儩醿戓儛 醿ａ儥醿曖償 醿椺儛醿曖儤醿♂儣醿愥儠醿愥儞 醿ㄡ儛醿溼儭醿樶儛. 醿ㄡ儛醿溼儭醿樶儛, 醿儠醿氠儤醿氠償醿戓儤醿� 醿掅儛醿犪償醿ㄡ償, 醿斸儬醿椺儤 醿撫儛 醿樶儧醿愥儠醿� 醿涐儤醿♂儸醿犪儛醿め償醿戓償醿戓儤醿� 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儤醿� 醿ａ儭醿愥儭醿犪儯醿氠儩 醿儤醿欋儦醿樶儭 醿撫儛醿犪儲醿曖償醿曖儤醿♂儛 醿撫儛 醿♂儛醿欋儯醿椺儛醿犪儤 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儤醿� 醿涐儩醿曖儦醿斸儨醿斸儜醿樶儭 醿♂儯醿犪儠醿樶儦醿樶儭醿愥儧醿斸儜醿� 醿儛醿犪儧醿愥儬醿椺儠醿樶儭.
醿♂儩醿� 醿戓償醿氠儩醿ａ儭 醿♂儛醿濁儶醿犪儛醿� 醿愥儱醿曖儭 醿掅儛醿撫儧醿濁儶醿斸儧醿ａ儦醿� 醿愥儰醿犪儤醿欋儤醿� 醿斸儭醿椺償醿⑨儤醿欋儛 - 醿愥儧醿濁儬醿儛醿氠償醿戓儤醿� 醿撫儛 醿⑨儛醿溼儧醿濁儺醿愥儮醿ａ儦醿�, 醿♂儤醿儩醿儺醿氠儤醿� 醿♂儛醿曖儭醿�, 醿愥儬醿愥儩醿犪儞醿樶儨醿愥儦醿ａ儬醿愥儞 醿ㄡ償醿涐儩醿♂儤醿氠儤, 醿︶儠醿椺儛醿斸儜醿斸儜醿樶儭 醿メ儛醿溼儞醿愥儥醿斸儜醿斸儜醿樶儭 醿掅儛醿犪儴醿斸儧醿� 醿掅儤醿熱儯醿犪儛醿� 醿涐儬醿濁儥醿愥儠醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼償醿戓儤醿�.
醿椺儛醿曖儛醿� 醿搬償醿溼儞醿斸儬醿♂儩醿溼儤, 醿曖儰醿樶儱醿犪儩醿�, 醿犪儩醿涐儛醿溼儤醿� 醿п儠醿斸儦醿愥儢醿� 醿♂儛醿樶儨醿⑨償醿犪償醿♂儩 醿炨償醿犪儭醿濁儨醿愥儫醿樶儛 - 醿椺儛醿曖儤醿♂儤 醿掅儛醿溼儠醿氠儤醿氠儤 醿掅儢醿樶儣. 醿椺儛醿曖儞醿愥優醿樶儬醿曖償醿氠儛醿�, 醿掅儛醿ａ儸醿濁儨醿愥儭醿儩醿犪償醿戓償醿氠儤 醿儛醿♂儤醿愥儣醿樶儣, 醿愥儰醿犪儤醿欋儛醿ㄡ儤 醿儛醿♂儠醿氠儤醿� 醿撫儛醿ａ儩醿欋償醿戓償醿氠儤 醿♂儯醿犪儠醿樶儦醿樶儣, 醿犪儩醿涐償醿氠儤醿� 醿樶儧醿斸儞醿愥儞 醿搬儱醿償醿曖儤醿�, 醿犪儛醿椺儛 醿♂儯醿氠儤醿� 醿儛醿儤醿氠儤 醿┽儛醿愥儺醿ㄡ儩醿� 醿撫儛 醿♂儛醿欋儯醿椺儛醿犪儤 醿椺儛醿曖儤 醿樶優醿濁儠醿濁儭. 醿搬償醿溼儞醿斸儬醿♂儩醿溼儤 醿樶儭 醿欋儛醿儤醿�, 醿犪儩醿涐償醿氠儭醿愥儶 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儛 醿♂儸醿п儯醿犪儤醿�; 醿涐儤醿愥儵醿溼儤醿�, 醿犪儩醿� 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儛 醿メ儛醿濁儭醿栣償 醿戓償醿曖儬醿愥儞 醿涐償醿⑨儤醿� 醿撫儛 醿犪儩醿� 醿愥儞醿愥儧醿樶儛醿溼儤 醿涐儺醿濁儦醿濁儞 醿樶儧醿樶儮醿濁儧 醿愥儬 醿樶儜醿愥儞醿斸儜醿�, 醿涐儣醿斸儦醿� 醿儺醿濁儠醿犪償醿戓儛 鈥炨儧醿п儩醿め儩醿戓儛醿ㄡ儤鈥� 醿掅儛醿氠儤醿濁儭 醿撫儛 醿愥儬 醿掅儛醿樶儛醿犪儩醿� 醿┽儛醿涐儩醿п儛醿氠儤醿戓償醿戓儤醿�, 醿♂儛醿欋儯醿椺儛醿� 醿椺儛醿曖儣醿愥儨 醿涐儤醿愥儺醿氠儩醿斸儜醿樶儭, 醿掅儛醿溼儛醿儦醿斸儜醿樶儭醿� 醿撫儛 醿♂儯醿氠儤醿斸儬醿� 醿愥儲醿撫儝醿濁儧醿樶儭 醿炨儬醿濁儶醿斸儭醿�.
醿椺儤醿椺儱醿濁儭 醿п儠醿斸儦醿愥儰醿斸儬醿� 醿曖儣醿メ儠醿�, 醿涐儛醿掅儬醿愥儧 醿曖儺醿曖儞醿斸儜醿�, 醿♂儤醿⑨儳醿曖償醿戓儤 醿愥儬 醿愥儬醿樶儭 醿♂儛醿欋儧醿愥儬醿樶儭醿� 醿欋儤醿椺儺醿曖儤醿♂儛醿� 醿涐儤醿︶償醿戓儯醿氠儤 醿斸儧醿濁儶醿樶償醿戓儤醿� 醿掅儛醿撫儧醿濁儭醿愥儶醿斸儧醿愥儞 醿撫儛 醿涐儸醿斸儬醿氠儤醿� 醿♂儛醿涐儛醿撫儦醿濁儜醿氠儛醿�, 醿┽償醿涐儤 醿愥儸 醿ａ儥醿曖償 醿♂儛醿п儠醿愥儬醿斸儦醿� 醿儤醿掅儨醿樶儭 醿撫儛醿償醿犪儤醿♂儛醿椺儠醿樶儭.
October 30, 2018
讴鬲丕亘蹖 亘賴 睾丕蹖鬲 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賲賳.
賴賲蹖卮賴 賲蹖 丿賵賳爻鬲賲 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 丿賵爻鬲 禺賵丕賴賲 丿丕卮鬲貙 賵賱蹖 亘賴 毓賱賱 賲禺鬲賱賮 丿乇 禺乇蹖丿卮 鬲丕禺蹖乇 賲蹖讴乇丿賲.
鬲丕 丕蹖賳 讴賴 亘賴 賵賯鬲 卮 诏乇賮鬲賲 卮貙 賵 亘賴 毓丕丿鬲 丿蹖乇蹖賳賴 賲 亘丕乇賴丕 賵 亘丕乇賴丕 倬蹖卮 丕夭 卮乇賵毓 亘賴 禺賵丕賳卮 賵 丿乇 丨蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮 亘賵 讴乇丿賲 卮 賵 賱匕鬲 亘乇丿賲.
亘丕 丕賵賳 胤乇丕丨蹖 賵 賯胤毓 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳蹖 賳卮乇 禺賵亘 趩卮賲賴.
丕夭 亘丿 乇賵夭诏丕乇貙 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 亘賴 賴賲乇丕賴 讴蹖賮賲 賵 亘爻蹖丕乇蹖 賵爻丕卅賱 卮禺氐蹖 賵 禺丕賳賵丕丿诏蹖 丿蹖诏乇 讴賴 讴賲 丕乇夭卮 賴賲 賳亘賵丿賳丿貙 丕夭 賲丕卮蹖賳 賲賵賳 丿夭丿蹖丿賳丿.
賵 賲賳 賲賵賳丿賲 賵 讴鬲丕亘 賳蹖賲 禺賵丕賳丿賴 卮丿賴 蹖 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳蹖 賲貙 倬爻 丿爻鬲 亘賴 讴丕乇 卮丿賲 賵 丕蹖賳 亘丕乇 亘丿賵賳 讴賵趩讴 鬲乇蹖賳 鬲乇丿蹖丿蹖 亘乇丕蹖 亘丕乇 丿賵賲 禺乇蹖丿賲 卮貙 賵 毓蹖卮 賲 賲爻鬲賲乇 卮丿!
丕夭 卮賲丕 趩賴 倬賳賴賵賳 亘丕 丕蹖賳 讴賴 讴賱蹖 賵爻蹖賱賴鈥� 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳蹖 賲賵賳 鬲賵爻胤 丕賵賳 爻丕乇賯 禺蹖乇 賳丿蹖丿賴 乇亘賵丿賴 卮丿貙 丕賲丕 丿丕睾 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 讴賴 賳氐賮 卮 乇賵 禺賵賳丿賴 賵 禺胤 讴卮蹖 讴乇丿賴 亘賵丿賲 亘賴 賴賲乇丕賴 讴鬲丕亘 禺蹖賱蹖 禺賵锟斤拷 賮乇丕爻賵蹖 禺賵丕亘 亘賴 丿賱賲. 賲賵賳丿貙 賴乇趩賳丿 讴賴 讴鬲丕亘 丕夭 賲毓丿賵丿 趩蹖夭丕蹖蹖賴 讴賴 丕賲孬丕賱 賵 賳馗丕蹖乇 夭蹖丕丿 丿丕乇賴 亘賴 賯賵賱 丨賯賵賯蹖 賴丕!
賲賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賲貙 鬲毓丕亘蹖乇 爻丕丿賴 賵 爻乇乇丕爻鬲 賵 丿乇毓蹖賳 丨丕賱 毓賲蹖賯 鬲賵卮 賮乇丕賵賵賳 亘賵丿.
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 卮 賴賲 毓賱蹖乇睾賲 丕蹖賳 讴賴 讴賲蹖 夭蹖丕丿蹖 賮丕賳鬲夭蹖 亘賵丿貙 賵賱蹖 亘賴 丿賱 賲蹖卮蹖賳賴.
丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 讴鬲丕亘蹖賴 讴賴 丕诏乇 丿乇 賳賵噩賵丕賳蹖 賲蹖禺賵賳丿賲 賴賲 丿賵爻鬲 賲蹖丿丕卮鬲賲貙 丿乇 爻丕賱賲賳丿蹖 賴賲 丿賵爻鬲卮 賲蹖丿丕卮鬲賲貙 賵 胤亘蹖毓鬲丕 丕賱丕賳 賴賲 禺蹖賱蹖 丿賵爻鬲 卮 丿丕乇賲.
丕夭 賲毓丿賵丿 讴鬲丕亘 賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 爻乇乇丕爻鬲貙 賲丕噩乇丕貙 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 賵 賯賱賲 禺賵亘 賵 胤賳夭 馗乇蹖賮 賵 亘蹖 丕丿毓丕蹖蹖 乇賵 蹖讴 噩丕 亘丕 賴賲 丿丕乇賴.
賳賲乇賴 毓賱丕賯賴 賲賳 亘賴 讴鬲丕亘 倬賳噩賴貙 賵 賳賲乇賴 賲 亘賴 禺賵丿 讴鬲丕亘 趩賴丕乇.
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January 7, 2008read more saul bellow. philip roth does. i hate the word romp. so let's say this book is all about personal exploration. henderson is opinionated, an american bull. he's in africa. he's being ugly and how you'd expect him to be. but he's the only one giving revelations and you couldn't imagine it any other way. he's like a teddy roosevelt mid life crisis tour guide. henderson's a brute with color. it's a search for the meaning of life with your dickhead uncle who owns a brand new chrysler. the worst part is - he finds it.
July 13, 2007
i loved, loved, loved this book.
this is the book that adam duritz from the counting crows named the song "the rain king" after...i've meant to read it for years and years and just now got around to it. i plan on buying a copy and picking it up once a year or so.
it's just really so enjoyable and really beautiful.
favorite excerpts:
"I had a voice that said I want! I want? I? It should have told me SHE wants, HE wants, THEY want. And moreover, it's love that makes reality reality. The opposite makes the opposite."
"Sometimes I think it is helpful to think of burial in a relation to the earth's crust. Four thousand five hundred miles more or less, to the core of the earth. No, graves are not deep but insignifigant, a few mere feet from the surface and not fear from fearing and desiring. More or less the same fear, more or less the same desire for thousands of generations. Child, father, father, child doing the same. Desire the same. Upon the crust, beneath the crust, again and again and again. Well, Henderson, what are the generations for, Please explain to me? Only to repeat fear and desire without a change? This cannot be what the thing is for, over and over and over. Any good man will break the cycle. There is no issue from that cycle for a man who do not take things into his hands."
this is the book that adam duritz from the counting crows named the song "the rain king" after...i've meant to read it for years and years and just now got around to it. i plan on buying a copy and picking it up once a year or so.
it's just really so enjoyable and really beautiful.
favorite excerpts:
"I had a voice that said I want! I want? I? It should have told me SHE wants, HE wants, THEY want. And moreover, it's love that makes reality reality. The opposite makes the opposite."
"Sometimes I think it is helpful to think of burial in a relation to the earth's crust. Four thousand five hundred miles more or less, to the core of the earth. No, graves are not deep but insignifigant, a few mere feet from the surface and not fear from fearing and desiring. More or less the same fear, more or less the same desire for thousands of generations. Child, father, father, child doing the same. Desire the same. Upon the crust, beneath the crust, again and again and again. Well, Henderson, what are the generations for, Please explain to me? Only to repeat fear and desire without a change? This cannot be what the thing is for, over and over and over. Any good man will break the cycle. There is no issue from that cycle for a man who do not take things into his hands."
September 26, 2022
They don鈥檛 make novels like this anymore. I鈥檓 just diving into the beautiful prose of Mr. Bellow and while this is a perfect 4.5 猸愶笍 novel I kept thinking for as much as I enjoyed, why don鈥檛 writers today try something different like the wacky adventures of Eugene Henderson. I鈥檓 kind of jealous of his exploits. I鈥檓 almost 50 and I ain鈥檛 going to Africa anytime soon. This was a great read. Bellow continues to fill up my TBR.
April 17, 2023
Absolutamente adorei todo o absurdo e epifania que s茫o descritas por Saul Bellow nessa obra, porque ao final, "chega um dia, sempre chega um dia de l谩grimas e loucura", sendo precisamente essa 煤ltima o grande destaque norteador da aventura de Henderson e seu grande reinado ca贸tico no continente africano.
Com diversos pontos de reflex茫o sobre o homem-m茅dio e seu local no mundo, Bellow nos conta a vida e prop贸sito de Henderson, um milion谩rio em fuga e em busca de despertar o sono do esp铆rito, que, partindo para uma viagem in贸spita com um guia 脕frica 脿 dentro, encontra n茫o apenas "rostos inteiros de esperan莽a, p茅s de respeitos, m茫os de justi莽a e sobrancelhas de serenidade", mas o mais absoluto contraste 脿 figura do homem branco cosmopolita e salvador e em especial, do sonho americano.
Com um choque cultural t茫o expressivo, com uma no莽茫o de respeito e hierarquia t茫o distinta da sua, Henderson 茅 despido dos seus privil茅gios quando se depara com dois grupos quase intoc谩veis dentro do continente; quando percebe que n茫o pode, por sua incapacidade f铆sica e intelectual de resolver os problemas que ali surgem, deixando, no entanto, mais danos do que benef铆cios 脿queles que julga poder salvar, 茅 quando seu reinado de fato come莽a, metaforicamente e tamb茅m concretamente, sendo t茫o absurdo e t茫o divertido ao mesmo tempo.
H谩, no entanto, muito o que se pode dizer disso, mas nem sempre cabe faz锚-lo, portanto, quando todos os rel贸gios forem jogados para fora do c茅u, quando o tempo n茫o existir na felicidade, ser谩 poss铆vel entender que "o sofrimento 茅 praticamente o 煤nico despertador confi谩vel para o sono do esp铆rito", foi para Henderson aqui. Excelente leitura a mim.
Com diversos pontos de reflex茫o sobre o homem-m茅dio e seu local no mundo, Bellow nos conta a vida e prop贸sito de Henderson, um milion谩rio em fuga e em busca de despertar o sono do esp铆rito, que, partindo para uma viagem in贸spita com um guia 脕frica 脿 dentro, encontra n茫o apenas "rostos inteiros de esperan莽a, p茅s de respeitos, m茫os de justi莽a e sobrancelhas de serenidade", mas o mais absoluto contraste 脿 figura do homem branco cosmopolita e salvador e em especial, do sonho americano.
Com um choque cultural t茫o expressivo, com uma no莽茫o de respeito e hierarquia t茫o distinta da sua, Henderson 茅 despido dos seus privil茅gios quando se depara com dois grupos quase intoc谩veis dentro do continente; quando percebe que n茫o pode, por sua incapacidade f铆sica e intelectual de resolver os problemas que ali surgem, deixando, no entanto, mais danos do que benef铆cios 脿queles que julga poder salvar, 茅 quando seu reinado de fato come莽a, metaforicamente e tamb茅m concretamente, sendo t茫o absurdo e t茫o divertido ao mesmo tempo.
H谩, no entanto, muito o que se pode dizer disso, mas nem sempre cabe faz锚-lo, portanto, quando todos os rel贸gios forem jogados para fora do c茅u, quando o tempo n茫o existir na felicidade, ser谩 poss铆vel entender que "o sofrimento 茅 praticamente o 煤nico despertador confi谩vel para o sono do esp铆rito", foi para Henderson aqui. Excelente leitura a mim.
June 21, 2024
In my favorite Bullwinkle cartoon that greatest of Moosylvanian mooses joins the Peace Corps. As he struggles to engage the African villagers in learning to build wells they are working on a secret project of their own. We eventually find they are building a rocket to blast Bullwinkle into space. I thought about that a lot as I read Henderson the Rain King. Jay Ward, the creator of the cartoon series, was skeptical of America's world's savior post-war aspirations and delighted in skewering the very idea of American supremacy. I grew up watching Bullwinkle reruns and perhaps as a result when I first read this book, in the 80s I think, I loved it. Since then my worldview has changed some, and my tastes as a reader have changed wildly. There is still a lot to revere in this book, but it did not live up to my memories.
Briefly, Eugene Henderson is a bumbling rich fool, a graduate of Princeton largely because of his wealth (it certainly is not due to his intellectual facility.) He was the least distinguished of three children of an accomplished physician, and the only one to survive to adulthood. He thereby becomes the head of the family, much to his father's chagrin. Henderson is a large man in every way and he throws around his gigantic personality, his enormous wealth, and his monumental physical size as bullies do. He is cruel, clueless, destructive and inconstant, and boy does he dislike women (as it is clear in every book Bellow did) and golly gee is he racist and does he ever fetishize blackness? Henderson's roots are very different than Bellow's, but in many ways I suspect Henderson is quite like Bellow. I suspect that because there is no satirical remove when Bellow talks about Henderson's relationships to women or to the African characters (even when he is discussing the size of black women's asses.) If I am right about this, and we are seeing Bellow in the Henderson character, it must be said that it appears Bellow was a right prick. Eventually, Henderson gets it into his head that he needs to find himself so he leaves his wife and many children and jets off to Africa with loads of money and vanity but no preparation or clear purpose. There he finds out who he is his after his arrogance causes calamity and he meets a tribal king named Dahfu who is educated, brilliant, and also despotic and insane in a lot of the same ways Henderson is despotic and insane. Suffice to say his impressions of what he has done and learned in Africa through experience and lengthy discussions with Dahfu on the meaning of life (mostly these are metaphysical discussions) may differ from the reader's impressions.
Henderson is a loudmouth, and his are the eyes we see this through. As a result, there is nothing in the way of pretty or elegant language here. There is a lot of bluster and misinformation. That though paints the picture of this character, and what a character! Yes, this is satire so there is a lot of exaggeration, but Henderson at his heart feels pretty real. Being vile does not mean one is not entertaining and edifying. Henderson is both. Bellow certainly knows how to write.
I really try not to judge literature by my own political and social beliefs or by social norms that did not exist when books were written. I think Bellow accomplished what he wished to accomplish and did so brilliantly, but I had a really hard time enjoying this after the action moved to Africa. Apparently, when I read this 40 years ago I was more intellectual in my reading, or maybe I just brought less life experience to the task. This is 5-star craft, but I can't go higher than a 3 when I factor in my enjoyment and the absence of the timelessness I hope to find in books considered modern classics.
Briefly, Eugene Henderson is a bumbling rich fool, a graduate of Princeton largely because of his wealth (it certainly is not due to his intellectual facility.) He was the least distinguished of three children of an accomplished physician, and the only one to survive to adulthood. He thereby becomes the head of the family, much to his father's chagrin. Henderson is a large man in every way and he throws around his gigantic personality, his enormous wealth, and his monumental physical size as bullies do. He is cruel, clueless, destructive and inconstant, and boy does he dislike women (as it is clear in every book Bellow did) and golly gee is he racist and does he ever fetishize blackness? Henderson's roots are very different than Bellow's, but in many ways I suspect Henderson is quite like Bellow. I suspect that because there is no satirical remove when Bellow talks about Henderson's relationships to women or to the African characters (even when he is discussing the size of black women's asses.) If I am right about this, and we are seeing Bellow in the Henderson character, it must be said that it appears Bellow was a right prick. Eventually, Henderson gets it into his head that he needs to find himself so he leaves his wife and many children and jets off to Africa with loads of money and vanity but no preparation or clear purpose. There he finds out who he is his after his arrogance causes calamity and he meets a tribal king named Dahfu who is educated, brilliant, and also despotic and insane in a lot of the same ways Henderson is despotic and insane. Suffice to say his impressions of what he has done and learned in Africa through experience and lengthy discussions with Dahfu on the meaning of life (mostly these are metaphysical discussions) may differ from the reader's impressions.
Henderson is a loudmouth, and his are the eyes we see this through. As a result, there is nothing in the way of pretty or elegant language here. There is a lot of bluster and misinformation. That though paints the picture of this character, and what a character! Yes, this is satire so there is a lot of exaggeration, but Henderson at his heart feels pretty real. Being vile does not mean one is not entertaining and edifying. Henderson is both. Bellow certainly knows how to write.
I really try not to judge literature by my own political and social beliefs or by social norms that did not exist when books were written. I think Bellow accomplished what he wished to accomplish and did so brilliantly, but I had a really hard time enjoying this after the action moved to Africa. Apparently, when I read this 40 years ago I was more intellectual in my reading, or maybe I just brought less life experience to the task. This is 5-star craft, but I can't go higher than a 3 when I factor in my enjoyment and the absence of the timelessness I hope to find in books considered modern classics.
February 24, 2016
This is bawdy, spontaneous, poetic writing.
Eugene Henderson, an overblown, twice-married, millionaire pig farmer and violin player is having an existential crisis.
Henderson the Rain King is a quest as complicated as any Haruki Murakami tale, but the protagonist is a bloated, bungling American鈥攁 man with 鈥渢he Midas touch in reverse.鈥� In Africa, his first stop is a village of people whose beloved cattle are dying of thirst because the water reserve is occupied by frogs. On one hand, Henderson wants to rescue everybody; on the other, he longs to be rescued:
There was so much I could relate to in this wonderful book: the obsession with truth and purpose; the hopelessly flawed character of Henderson whose face belied every twisted thought and emotion; his chronic craving; and finally his exhaustion at the 鈥渢oo-muchness鈥� of living with remedies for his predicament stymied by equal parts laziness, impatience for expanded consciousness, and terror of it.
With so many references to mind-body medicine and scenes that will resonate for anybody who has practiced alternative therapies or body psychology, this feels like a modern book, although it was first published in 1959. I learned from the introduction that Bellow was practiced in (arguably the father of Western mind-body medicine) Wilhelm Reich鈥檚 body psychotherapies, and much of that work and characterology shows up in the book鈥攁 bonus for anybody with this knowledge.
The writing is weighty, sometimes digressing in a kind of ADHD spasm, and Bellow lacks the precision I so admire in, my hero and Bellow鈥檚 contemporary, John Cheever, and the meticulous cleanliness that makes Murakami鈥檚 books so easy to read. But so be it. What he offers is worth the sometimes-exhaustion of the reading effort: a full-blown spiritual quest, from despair to acceptance of our moving gross-body experience of life.
Eugene Henderson, an overblown, twice-married, millionaire pig farmer and violin player is having an existential crisis.
I want, I want, I want, I want, I want!This is the geshrei that drives fifty-five-year-old Henderson into and through a spiritual quest in Africa. He doesn鈥檛 know what he wants, just that 鈥渆verybody is working, making, digging, bulldozing, trucking, loading, and so on . . .鈥� until it is a form of madness. (I think he would be right at home in our time when value is quantified by how many 鈥渓ikes鈥� we鈥檝e accrued.)
Henderson the Rain King is a quest as complicated as any Haruki Murakami tale, but the protagonist is a bloated, bungling American鈥攁 man with 鈥渢he Midas touch in reverse.鈥� In Africa, his first stop is a village of people whose beloved cattle are dying of thirst because the water reserve is occupied by frogs. On one hand, Henderson wants to rescue everybody; on the other, he longs to be rescued:
This was a beautiful, strange, special place, and I was moved by it. I believed the queen could straighten me out if she wanted to; as if, any minute now, she might open her hand and show me the thing, the source, the germ鈥攖he cipher. The mystery, you know. I was absolutely convinced she must have it. The earth is a huge ball which nothing holds up in space except its own motion and magnetism, and we conscious things who occupy it believe we have to move too, in our own space. We can鈥檛 allow ourselves to lie down and not do our share and imitate the greater entity. You see, this is our attitude. But now look at Willatale, the Bittah [highly evolved] woman; she had given up such notions, there was no anxious care in her, and she was sustained. Why, nothing bad happened! On the contrary, it all seemed good! Look how happy she was, grinning with her flat nose and gap teeth, the mother-of-pearl eye and the good eye, and look at her white head! It comforted me just to see her, and I felt that I might learn to be sustained too if I followed her example. (74)
There was so much I could relate to in this wonderful book: the obsession with truth and purpose; the hopelessly flawed character of Henderson whose face belied every twisted thought and emotion; his chronic craving; and finally his exhaustion at the 鈥渢oo-muchness鈥� of living with remedies for his predicament stymied by equal parts laziness, impatience for expanded consciousness, and terror of it.
With so many references to mind-body medicine and scenes that will resonate for anybody who has practiced alternative therapies or body psychology, this feels like a modern book, although it was first published in 1959. I learned from the introduction that Bellow was practiced in (arguably the father of Western mind-body medicine) Wilhelm Reich鈥檚 body psychotherapies, and much of that work and characterology shows up in the book鈥攁 bonus for anybody with this knowledge.
The writing is weighty, sometimes digressing in a kind of ADHD spasm, and Bellow lacks the precision I so admire in, my hero and Bellow鈥檚 contemporary, John Cheever, and the meticulous cleanliness that makes Murakami鈥檚 books so easy to read. But so be it. What he offers is worth the sometimes-exhaustion of the reading effort: a full-blown spiritual quest, from despair to acceptance of our moving gross-body experience of life.
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