Saul Bellow: "I Was a Jew and an American and a Writer"

Saul Bellow's novel "I Was a Jew and an American and a Writer" explores the themes of Jewish identity, American culture, and the pursuit of a meaningful life. Author Gerald Sorin emphasizes Bellow's Jewish identity as central to his work, highlighting how it shaped his perspective and the content of his fiction. Sorin suggests that Bellow was an exceptional representative of the American Jewish writer category, as his characters grapple with the challenges of living a good life in an imperfect world.

Format: Hardback
Length: 602 pages
Publication date: 30 April 2024
Publisher: Indiana University Press

Bellow s work,spanning from the 1940s to the 2000s,when he wrote his final novel at the age of 84,revolved around the commandment in Deuteronomy to choose life over nihilistic withdrawal and the defense of meaninglessness. While Bellow may have resisted being labeled an American Jewish Writer,Sorin suggests that he was a remarkable embodiment of the genre. Bellow and his fictional characters not only embrace life but also embark on a quest to understand what it truly means to live a fulfilling and meaningful existence,a pursuit that may be challenging to define and even more difficult to attain. Sorin believes that Bellow recognized two significant obstacles on his path: the imperfections of the world and the inherent weakness of the human seeker.

Saul Bellow: I Was a Jew and an American and a Writer offers a fresh and original perspective on the life and works of Saul Bellow, the Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 1976. Author Gerald Sorin emphasizes Bellow's Jewish identity as fundamental to his being and the content and meaning of his fiction. Bellow's work from the 1940s to 2000, when he wrote his last novel at the age of 84, centers on the command in Deuteronomy to choose life as distinct from nihilistic withdrawal and the defense of meaninglessness. Although Bellow disdained the label of American Jewish Writer, Sorin conjectures that he was an outstanding representative of the classification. Bellow and the characters in his fiction not only choose life but also explore what it means to live a good life, however difficult that may be to define, and regardless of how much harder it is to achieve.

Sorin, for his part, believes that Bellow realized that at least two obstacles stood in the way: the imperfection of the world and the frailty of the human pursuer. Bellow's exploration of these themes in his fiction is a testament to his enduring legacy as a writer who captured the essence of the human experience with profound insight and empathy.

Weight: 1052g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780253069436