Fading charmer Tommy Wilhelm has reached his day of reckoning and is scared. In his forties, he still retains a boyish impetuousness that has brought him to the brink of chaos: He is separated from his wife and children, at odds with his vain, successful father, failed in his acting career (a Hollywood agent once cast him as the “type that loses the girl”), and in a financial mess. In the course of one climactic day he reviews his past mistakes and IffsSeize spiritual malaise, until a mysterious philosophizing con man grants him a glorious, illuminating moment of truth and understanding, and offers him one last hope….
With an Introduction by Cynthia Ozick.
Editorial Review(s)
“What makes all of this so remarkable is not merely Bellow’s eye and ear for vital detail. Nor is it his talent for exposing the innards of character in a paragraph, a sentence, a phrase. It is Bellow’s vision, his uncanny ability to seize the moment and to see beyond it.” —Chicago Sun-Times
About the Author
Saul Bellow (1915-2005), born Solomon Bellows in Lachine, Quebec, Canada, was a Canadian-American writer recognized as one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. Moving to Chicago with his family at a young age, Bellow set many of his novels in the city, capturing its character and that of its residents with penetrating depth. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976 for his vibrant narrative art and keen insight into the complexities of human nature, especially as observed in modern civilization. His major works include The Adventures of Augie March, Herzog, Henderson the Rain King, and Humboldt's Gift. Bellow’s style, marked by rich humor and profound ethical questions, helped define post-war American literature, earning him numerous other accolades, including three National Book Awards and the Pulitzer Prize.
