Saul Bellow

An acclaimed American-Jewish writer, born in Quebec, schooled in the United States. Won the Nobel prize for literature in 1976. Known for novels investigating isolation, spiritual dissociation and the possibilities of human awakening. (need more, just barely scratching the surface)

Well-known works include:

[Seize the Day]? [Adventures of Augie March]? [Henderson the Rain King]? [Mr. Sammler's Planet]? Herzog?

Although not as widely acclaimed as some of his novels, Bellow's later works include the powerful and extraordinarily well-crafted collection of short stories entitled [Him with His Foot in His Mouth]?. Bellow's story lines are led by the personal quests and crises of his protagonists rather than by action. Our introduction to a Bellow protagonist is often at a point of deep crisis in the character's life. Whether romantic, financial or sparked by other causes, the turmoil experienced by a typical Bellow protragonist leads to deep existential questioning. Bellow artfully manages to reference the teachings of great philosophers and thinkers within many of his novels, usually without damaging their readibility or disrupting story flow. One terrific example of this technique is seen within [Mr. Sammler's Planet]?, Bellow's novel about a curmudgeonly Holocaust survivor living in New York City amid the cultural revolution of the 1960's.