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andriawrites's review against another edition
3.0
Essential reading for anyone interested in interwar literature, especially in a North American context. I undertook to read this novel on my own time sine I had yet to encounter Bellow's novel in one of my courses at Uni. Admittedly, the story was quite boring and the main character is, to be quite honest, annoying. However, Bellow's writing and his rants on the anxiety and complexity of feeling in the wake of a new world war is what saves this novel from the fate of the one-star rating.
timothyc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
robertlashley's review against another edition
4.0
YEAR OF REREADING, BOOK 2
What Dangling Man doesn't have are the aesthetic elements that made Saul Bellow so breathtaking to read so very often. It is an epistolary novel, and the structure doesn't afford Bellow to flesh out scenes like the first person dynamics in his big books. There is also the question of style itself. Man was his first book, and while there are moments of great beauty, he hadn't yet developed the idiomatically gorgeous prose that helped bring high modernism to a mass audience.
What the novel does have over his mid to late books is a sense of dramatic tension that the later books don't have. Unlike the writers, professors, and intellectuals that populate the glorified divorce diaries he would pass off a novels, Bellow is not in love with Joseph, the Anguished young man in conflict with his country, his wife, and his god, and the scenes that are written here are more vivid and compelling than the pages and pages of his later works where he just serves as a standing booster for his divorced men.
Augie March and Seize the Day are as still as good as American fiction gets in the 20th century, IMO. This is still worth reading
What Dangling Man doesn't have are the aesthetic elements that made Saul Bellow so breathtaking to read so very often. It is an epistolary novel, and the structure doesn't afford Bellow to flesh out scenes like the first person dynamics in his big books. There is also the question of style itself. Man was his first book, and while there are moments of great beauty, he hadn't yet developed the idiomatically gorgeous prose that helped bring high modernism to a mass audience.
What the novel does have over his mid to late books is a sense of dramatic tension that the later books don't have. Unlike the writers, professors, and intellectuals that populate the glorified divorce diaries he would pass off a novels, Bellow is not in love with Joseph, the Anguished young man in conflict with his country, his wife, and his god, and the scenes that are written here are more vivid and compelling than the pages and pages of his later works where he just serves as a standing booster for his divorced men.
Augie March and Seize the Day are as still as good as American fiction gets in the 20th century, IMO. This is still worth reading
pjv1013's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
justplainbeth's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ohmygollylibby's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
pearloz's review against another edition
3.0
A solid first novel that at times, unfortunately, reads like a first novel (ie: super wordy, not in count, but in wordiness). Our main character is restless, torn between two worlds or rather stuck between his current existence and the future he wants in order to escape it. It may not seem that way to others, or indeed himself, given that he is volunteering for war, but he is running away from his life, his future be damned...but he has to wait to be called up. Hence his dangling! Anyway, solid novel.
ihfdayton's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tbr_tyrant's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
2.0
"no virtue could be considered greater than that of trying to preserve oneself."
For such a short book, this one is NOT light.
A story about Joseph, rebel and a little disillusioned with life. He spends his time doing pretty idle things.
But from there it's a little crazy. It's dense and a lot of inner ramblings and he struggles to explain to everyone and even himself, why he is so against work schedule and a planned day.
but I can't say I enjoyed it. The living arrangement (and the guy who never closed his bathroom door?) was confusing because I wasn't sure how much common space they shared.
although I did find the last few chapters interesting and even chuckled at the end.
For such a short book, this one is NOT light.
A story about Joseph, rebel and a little disillusioned with life. He spends his time doing pretty idle things.
But from there it's a little crazy. It's dense and a lot of inner ramblings and he struggles to explain to everyone and even himself, why he is so against work schedule and a planned day.
but I can't say I enjoyed it. The living arrangement (and the guy who never closed his bathroom door?) was confusing because I wasn't sure how much common space they shared.
although I did find the last few chapters interesting and even chuckled at the end.