Him with His Foot in His Mouth and Other Stories

by Saul Bellow

Book Overview

This dazzling collection of shorter fiction describes a series of self-awakenings -- a suburban divorcee deciding among lovers, a celebrity drawn into his cousin's life of crime, a father remembering... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006015179X
• ISBN13: 9780060151799
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 294 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Master Class in the Short Story

Every story in this collection illustrates the range of style and depth of Saul Bellows writing. Every story is outstanding, from the title story (shades of Mosebys memoirs)to the lengthy 'What Kind of Day Did You Have' to Zetland. The stories all concern the place of the intellectual and art in a society where intelligence is measured by wealth. In a country where the basic needs for living are met, 'phoney' needs are created;status symbols, pseudo intellectualism to create conversation at partys, where people spend all the time they have to pursue great art, philosophy and literature on seeking wealth; selling their souls for a career in some dead beat occupation or image of themselves that no one really believes in but themselves. Bellow, the great intellectual himself, never loses the reader. His work makes you thirst to read the endless names and book titles he reels off. His style can change so vividly, from the modern (middle class?) style of say 'What Kind of Day..' to the Algrenesque (proletarian?) style of 'Zetland' If you've never read Saul Bellow, ease in with this fabulous collection.Bellow was awarded the Nobel prize because he was great, not because there was nobody else to give it to as sometimes you're led to think!

This is a really dense collection...

...and I don't mean that in a bad way. It took me a month to get through, and when I finally put it down I sat for a good thirty minutes, just thinking. There are five stories in all, and they all focus on someone musing about their life in light of recent events. "Him With His Foot in His Mouth," the title story, is basically a letter of apology, thirty-five years late, to a librarian. The author, old and in bad health, is hiding out in Canada as a result of some vague legal troubles. Years ago, he made a rude remark to the librarian, and seemingly has never forgiven himself for it. He reflects on his lifelong tendency to say rude things to people, and what might make him do it, inspiring pity that peaks with the conclusion of the letter. "What Kind of Day Did You Have?" comes next. It's written from the point of view of a recently divorced woman having an affair with a much older academic man. He calls her and asks her to fly with him to a lecture. She's involved in a custody battle with her ex-husband and, although she has an court-appointed interview with a psychiatrist the same day, she agrees. A snow storm strands them in the airport, and she starts thinking about their relationship. "Zetland: By a Character Witness" is the shortest story in the book, and probably my least favorite. It didn't really seem complete. It's about a young man who moves to New York to become a philosopher and has a somewhat disastrous life in a rundown apartment with a gypsy wife. "A Silver Dish" is a completely heartbreaking tale of a man dealing with the recent death of his father. He reflects back to an event from his childhood - his father stealing a silver dish from a philanthropic widow who was paying for his education at seminary. It's a story about making the best of an imperfect relationship, and I suspect most people will be able to relate to it, since it perfectly communicates the frustration of loving a less-than-perfect parent. "Cousins" is the final story, and it centers on an older man who looks after all of his cousins. One of them is in some kind of trouble with the mob, one is a genius desperate for greatness before he dies, and one is quite ill. His tender thoughts about his family are beautiful, especially when tied in with the end, when he has a startling epiphany about himself. There are so many truths in here about human nature and how we interact with each other. Reading it takes a little thought and a little time, but it's worth every bit of effort you put into it.

the discomfort of an old shoe

This is a beautiful reading experience, not without the usual display that Bellows is so masterful in communicating, through gentle suggestion. Banal horrors which a person incorporates into his being and his identity in the methodical manner of a person savoring a meal of shoes come out and glare from the characters like an unmistakable body-odor. If you like this book, then start reading Martin Amis, by all means.