The Adventures of Augie March (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) | Saul Bellow

The Adventures of Augie March (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) | Saul Bellow | A treatise of personal freedom

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	The Adventures of Augie March (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) Saul Bellow Penguin Classics, 1996 - 544 pages average customer review:based on 65 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Soul Walking

(In response to various clowns, bores and book clubbers): Refusing to connect with Augie March is refusing to acknowledge the shots of brillance that can and should be absorbed while traversing through a universally chipped paint existance. To stop yourself short from engaging in the lets-run-through-the-park momentum of Augie's adventure, the thinking person's adventure, our adventure, is to settle for a poster of Paris because the trip is too much the hassle. Fair enough, the "adventure" had by Augie is Not an A to B plot-o-rama, spoon fed lessons learned, ring tosses at color coated Truth. Looks out, he's coming of age...and...he does it! Phew. No, it's not that. It's not loads of misanthropic scandal and unhinged naked nubiles to hold interest. It does expect a little more from us. But simple pages does not an interesting book make. Simple ideas lead to a hobby of televsion watching. Simple perspectives lead to lonely walks, and race riots, and war. If, the senses are geared up for expansion, then stretch out further and get in deeper, dig around in the broken shards and look in the windows, take up a new rhythm, don't turn it off. This book is vitality. Augie is taking us with him gang, all we have to do is tag along, and for the love of god, when the opportunity is there, by all means, pack quickly and go.

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A treatise of personal freedom

Saul Bellow writing is very poetic and beautifully scripted - it's not straightforward to read, but then again since Bellow is examining the purposes of our lives, I wouldn't expect the novel and writing style to oversimplify our predicament. Augie is a poor Jewish boy growing up in Chicago - "that somber city" - in a broken home with his dictatorial Grandmother, abandoned mother, and two diametrically opposed brothers (Simon and George.) He finds his brother Simon obsessed with material facts and riches that he cannot possess. Whereas Augie maintains a carefree life experimenting and dabbling with various encounters with different people and places in Chicago, Mexico, and Europe - never quite satisfied or convinced of the importance of each situation. Augie resists the Machiavellian pursuits of his older brother Simon, and is willing to live as a pauper, and as a result, not be controlled by money, wives, children, and especially responsibilities.

Augie's plight is like any other introspective journey. What is my purpose? Why am I here? Bellow, I believe tries to not necessarily answer this question, but rather appreciates the quandary that many of us find ourselves in. At one point Augie's epiphany - the essential and natural course and purpose of life is each person's axial lines. Freedom of thought and emotions - and love our what keeps Augie in line with his purpose.

This is not an easy book to read, but a fascinating and poetic journey that requires time and patience from the reader. I am considering reading it again to soak in all of the details I missed. I wholeheartedly recommend this book; despite the ruminations of other reviewers that took offense to the existential tract of Saul Bellow, I believe that whether you believe in a chaotic or an ordered loving universe - either way you'll find the book interesting and the dilemma facing humans an interesting mess. The book took me 5 weeks to read - I have a voracious appetite for books and usually read them in much less time - so those of you considering reading this book - make sure you are in it for the long haul!

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character interest

This was the book that had so many of Bellow's friends excited that he had broken out of his sophmore slump. However, the work is immense, wordy and, at times completely incomprehensible. What was Bellow attempting here? I can only imagine the fury at which he was scribbling (or typing) away in some of those opening chapters. If not for passages that I've since attempted to re read seven or eight times, I would consider this a great book. It is instead, an interesting, at times entertaining and worthwhile one. The spirit of the thing is enough to keep one reading, as I did, when there were many moments of lyrical prose to pull the rest of it along. Some of the characters are thin, except for Augie and his family. His brother and his in-law family are amusing and provide for setting and dialogue that are Bellow hallmarks.

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Phew.

I know - it was important in its time, but this book was one thankless slog for me. I so desperately wanted there to have been an editor, even though I know that its length and serial nature were groundbreaking at the time. I felt like I was back in highschool English class, in its worst incarnation.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, page 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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