The Adventures of Augie March

The book I received was really smoky

This novel provided a breakthrough in American literature when it was published in 1953. Bellow's fluid--and often florid--inner consciousness writing contains echoes of Walt Whitman, of learning pounded into students of the Old Testament, and of Greek myth. Best of all, his early chapters bring to life 1920s Chicago, the Jewish tenements, the old world condescension and superior attitude of Augie's grandmother, and of life on the streets, just as the film "Once Upon a Time in America" does for Robert De Niro's Bronx character, "Noodles." I marked any number of passages and lines that struck me as superior, too many to quote. Where the novel goes astray, I believe, is in the episodes set in Mexico (with Thea and her eagle) and in France. The story comes alive only in the Chicago of Augie's inner life, with companions such as Dingbat, Augie's employer, the paraplegic father-figure Einhorn, the gangsters, gamblers and cheats, of his strange relationship with his brothers, the fortune-hunting Simon and the imbecile Georgie, and of his women, Lucy Magnus, Thea, and his wife, Stella. Bellow used enough real events, such as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929 and the GM sit-down strike of 1937, to hold the attention of anyone interested in history, but he personalizes these events with poignant episodes of home life and the hard times his character survived. There is enough autobiographical detail in the novel to fill out the reader's impression of early Bellow, and if that isn't enough, his earlier work, "Dangling Man," completes the task. There was a time when "page-turner" meant a boring book, one that the reader skims through. Nowadays it means a gripping read. This novel is a definite page-turner of the latter type. Augie constantly searches for meaning in his life, for strength of character he feels he lacks, and for something better than the "reality" we know about. As he has Thea say, "There must be something better than what people call reality." Although I haven't yet read the later Bellow novels, it seemed to me as I put this one down that he began a philosophical search with this early book, and that he probably never completed the journey. I intend to follow him on his way.

This is easily one of the finest novels that I have ever had a chance to read and proves one of the basic rules of good fiction--experience bucks education. Augie is the product of his own character, intent on understanding all that surrounds him as he makes his way through up and down the cultural, class, and political divides of the 1920's, 30's and 40's. The narrative is the education of a poor boy who could see as much value in the pronouncements of a crippled boss, exiled intelligentsia, and pool room hustlers as in the massive amount of poetry, fiction, and history that he assimilates into his worldview--one that values common decency as much as intelligence and cunning. This is a book that I have now read three times and the view of American idealism from fifty years ago when it was published is simply awe inspiring. The times when the text breaks from its narrative molde and goes into an extended discussion of philosophicl ideas in Yiddish inflected vernacular with idiosyncratic grammar can make you cranky and can often be perplexing. This is completely secondary though, for a close reading of any of these passages brings to light just how sophisticated Augie is--some of the actions he takes make him seem only slightly smarter than an ape though. If this had been the only book that Bellow had written he still would have earned the Nobel Prize in 1976. I can thnk of few books I have read where a character has drank so deeply and appreciatively of their own culture, upbringing, and experience as Augie March did. When Augie opens his mouth with the book's first sentence declaring "I am an American," he speaks with a level of sincerity, certainty and complexity that animates very few other characters in the novels of any nation.

some reviewers have complained "augie march" is a hard read, and to a certain extent they are right. i'm an experienced reader myself and found i needed a good 150 pages to settle into bellow's style. but boy, was it worth it! and now i have the pleasure of carrying augie around inside my head -- and a fascinating companion he makes. to those of you who threw in the towel i direct your attention to the priceless "how to read a book" by van doren and adler. flip straight to chapter 21, "reading and the growth of the mind" and slurp it up. a wonderful 9- or 10-page essay that'll give you the strength to keep turning those pages, and help reveal jewels like "augie march" for the treasures they are.

This novel is unquestionably one of the great masterpieces of our time. Saul Bellow paints portraits of characters like Rembrandt. He has a brilliant technique for divulging not only the physical nuances of his characters but also gets deep into the essence of their souls. He has an astute grasp of motivation and spins a complex tale with an ease that astounds. Even the most unusual twists of fate seem natural and authentic. Augie is a man "in search of a worthwhile fate." After struggling at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a penniless youth in Chicago, he ultimately discovers that alignment with the "axial lines" of his existence is the secret to human fulfillment. While his brother is engrossed in chasing after financial enrichment and social esteem, Augie learns through his own striving that such pursuit is "merely clownery hiding tragedy." Augie is a man dogged in his pursuit of the American dream who has an epiphany that the riches that life has to offer lie in the secrets at the heart's core. If, as Sartre says, life is the search for meaning, then Augie is the inspired champion of this great human quest. The true test of a great book is that you wish it would never end. Fortunately, Saul Bellow is as prolific as he is brilliant and there is much more to explore. Bellow is worthy of the characterization of one of America's best living novelists: he is a treasure. His wisdom staggers the imagination. Don't let this novel pass you by!