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

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

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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 66 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Ranging from the depths of poverty to the heights of success, this is the chronicle of a modern-day Columbus in search of reality and fulfilment.

Well deserving Great American Tale [81][T]

At this point in my life, I believe that American literature peaks when the topic is relatively simple: describe a rags to riches odyssey by a young person whose urban environment's school of hard knocks leads him or her to great fortune - monetary or otherwise. Among those great novels, I would have to include "The Adventures of Augie March."

The incredibly well written and thoroughly descriptive narrative covering the life of boy Augie to his expatriate life amid the city of lights, Bellow proves his achievement awards for his literature is both deserving and inevitable.

This book, centering upon Chicago, makes me think the author is like another Chicago-themed author of American literature: Theodore Dreiser. Augie is not much different than the great protagonist Carrie Meeber of Sister Carrie. Like Sister Carrie , this is a tome. Well over 250,000 words, this book can be a great read, but it will require some significant time by the bed stand. Both Carrie and Augie fall upon success. Neither seeks it, it falls upon them. And, each is very humble upon the receipt. And, those around them are envious and admiring.

The importance of education then, and even more true today, is outlined in one discourse. "You should go out and find what you can do, and then after four years if you aren't any good at any special thing, you at least have this degree. And it won't be any sonofabitch who can kick you around." Good advice. Then. And, today.

But, going to school would not make a great storyline. So, we follow Augie who washes dogs, aids a pool hall owner, helps his brother in the in-law's business, trains eagles in Mexico, works with intellectuals in writing books, and eventually works on deals in France.. A war stint here, a time on the open sea there, and a few other diversions, not forgetting the women he wooed - as well as those who wooed him - make this an incredibly entertaining tale. And, we are truly glad that his wishes had not become true when he states, "Sometimes I wished I could become a shoemaker too."

Great writing mixed with a great tale make this a great novel.

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Found a favorite

I have definitely found a new favorite in Auggie March. Definitely a slow read, but the episodes of thought and emotion were definitely worth the work. Maybe I am biased though as the more and more I read this book the more I realized I had some things in common with Senor March, in thought and experience. It was rather odd, even one of the character names was right on to my experiences. Freaked me out a little. All in all I thought it was an amazing read, but I definitely would not recommend this book to everyone.

Review of Penguin Classics' Augie March

Honestly, I, like many readers, found this book at times quite tedious. Bellow creates a world with many, many characters, each with their own unique characteristics and outlooks. This is a work which requires concentration and dedication to the story, which some readers may be unwilling to give.

The work is soaked in references to classical literature, especially Greek and Roman literature, which I found very entertaining, being very interested in classics.

After nearly six-hundred pages, one does develop a deep, psychological understanding of the character, and begins to develop opinions about his fate. The story is in this sense engrossing.

The introduction is excellent. Mr. Hitchens is brief and lucid.

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Is Bellow The Real Salinger?

This coming of age book, is for me, what I had hoped for when I read Catcher in the Rye. Some might think of the two writers as apples and oranges, but I couldn't help but to compare the two books as I read. Augie is a character that is made real by his creator. There is nothing at all contrived, self important or intentionally rebellious and yet Augie is a rebel of the highest order, one who is forced to face the real world and chooses his own path.

An Alien Universe

I have tried to read three of Saul Bellow's novels now, and "Augie March" (which is also his most well-known) is my third (and probably final) failure to enter the universe that Saul Bellow has created and inhabited. "Augie March" follows the adventures of a Jewish boy growing up in the Depression as he wanders from job to job, meeting one dubious character after the other, the wisdom and teachings of his grandmother always in his ear. The book is above all lyrical and rhythmic, and it's a fine example of the Jewish story-telling direction -- but it's also directionless and aloof.

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