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's exploration of the commandment to choose life in Deuteronomy and his defense of meaninglessness were significant aspects of his writing. Despite Bellow's reluctance to label himself an American Jewish writer, Sorin argues that he was an outstanding representative of that category. Through his characters, Bellow examined the challenges of living a good life in a flawed world and the limitations of human pursuit.

Format: Paperback / softback
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 as a distinct alternative to 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 this category. Bellow and his fictional characters not only embrace life but also embark on a profound exploration of what it truly means to live a virtuous and fulfilling existence,despite the inherent challenges and complexities involved. Sorin believes that Bellow recognized two significant obstacles that stood in the way of achieving this ideal: the imperfections of the world and the inherent weaknesses of the human pursuit.

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. For Sorin, Bellow realized that at least two obstacles stood in the way: the imperfection of the world and the frailty of the human pursuer.

Saul Bellow: I Was a Jew and an American and a Writer provides a new and insightful narrative of the life and works of Saul Bellow. By using Bellow's deeply internalized Jewishness and his remarkable imagination and creativity as a lens, Sorin examines how he captured the shifting atmosphere of postwar American culture. 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 as a distinct alternative to 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 this category. Bellow and his fictional characters not only embrace life but also embark on a profound exploration of what it truly means to live a virtuous and fulfilling existence, despite the inherent challenges and complexities involved. Sorin believes that Bellow recognized two significant obstacles that stood in the way of achieving this ideal: the imperfections of the world and the inherent weaknesses of the human pursuit.

Weight: 862g
Dimension: 153 x 230 x 38 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780253069443