Bellow has tried to convey it in an unfortunate form. But many readers will probably conclude that Mr. No one would wish to criticize so commendable a lesson. If not quite that prodigious, at least as a rebel against modern materialism and a voice crying in a fanciful wilderness for more love of nature and more love of man. A Don Quixote, perhaps, or evenĪ Captain Ahab. His sins and weeping copiously, performing feats of strength and being hailed as the sacred Rain King of a primitive tribe, sees himself (one suspects) not only as a comic figure, but also as a heroic one. Henderson, wandering around Africa lamenting Henderson and various black characters so stiff, portentous and pompous they pass all understanding and with a heavy-breathing mysticism that glorifies life, love and nature to very little purpose. All three elements are mixed thoroughly together, with Henderson writingĪ supercharged prose unlike anything ever recorded in print before, with conversations between His faithful Waziri on any page, and a solemn quest for “the great principles of life”-for spiritual peace, happiness and communion with truth and deity. 'Henderson the Rain King' contains three major elements: grotesque comedy, which hardly ever seems comic fantasy and adventure in Central Africa, an Africa deliberately distorted so far from reality that one half expects to meet Tarzan and As much cannot be said for “Henderson the Rain King,” which is an unsuccessful experiment, noble in purpose but dismal in result. But rhapsodic, tedious and stupefying as “Augie” often was, it was also intermittently funny and spangled with examples of Mr. The first person by a narrator a trifle touched in the head. The comic extravaganza about the absurdities and trials of modern life was also written in

Saul Bellow is a talented and ambitious writer best known for his “The Adventures of Augie March,” which was published six years ago. He is the hero and narrator of “Henderson the Rain King,” a peculiar, prolix

Henderson was a champion sufferer, a fabulously strong giant of a man with a sentimental heart and no common sense whatever. Raising pigs, learning to play the violin, doing hard physical labor on his estate near Danbury-nothing could soothe his tedium

Henderson was “moody, rough, tyrannical and probably His incessant follies, his alcoholism (he was often drunk before lunch) and his mordant discontent were more than he could bear. EUGENE HENDERSON, a multimillionaire by trade and a pathetic, swaggering clown by nature, reached an imaginary point of no return when he wasĥ5 years old and felt that he had to go to Africa. FebruBooks of the Times By ORVILLE PRESCOTT Henderson the Rain King By Saul Bellow

ჰენდერსონი, წვიმის მეფე by Saul Bellow