Rating: 
Summary: Nobody Makes It Through Life Alive
Review: When I was a kid, some of my classmates already knew what they wanted to be. They marched in a straight line towards the goal. I, however, never knew what I wanted to do. I liked studying, but had no vision of a future. I drifted along and climbed into whatever boats came within reach. Augie March is a young Chicagoan from a broken home, who drifts with the tides as well, in the period 1927-1947. He winds up smuggling illegal immigrants, stealing books, travelling to Mexico, trying to train an eagle to catch iguanas, and playing poker. After a few good, bad and indifferent experiences with women, he joins the Merchant Marine during World War II, gets married to a would-be actress, and survives a ship torpedoing. When we leave Augie, he's making illegal business deals in Europe. Has he ever made a really conscious decision ? It's not clear. Bellow's novel is full of humor, philosophy, and insights on life. For example, on page 305 --"But I had the idea also that you don't take so wide a stand that it makes a human life impossible, nor try to bring together irreconciliables that destroy you, but try out what of human you can live with first."
THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH is an almost endless literary parade of portraits, of weird and wonderful characters from many walks of life. It's like a pilgrimage back in time to another America, another age---perhaps more innocent in some respects, but not so smooth, not so well-rounded, a thrusting, struggling America where raw money power arbited so much. Even though the book could have been cut down a bit here and there because 617 pages is overlong, Bellow's novel will remain a classic of American and world fiction for two reasons. First, because human nature scarcely changes. So many of the people surrounding Augie March are universal characters, found everywhere and everywhen. Their motives are not simple, their behavior sometimes inexplicable, but always within the realm of the word "human". They strive, they succeed, they fail, they cop out, and they never remain the same. They transform as they live. Life reshapes them. The second reason that I think this book will remain a classic-and the reason why I'm giving it five stars on Amazon---is the language. Hemingway and Fitzgerald wrote clearly and simply. Perhaps we can say that Hawthorne and Melville's prose was very ornate, stylistic. Faulkner....well, yes, Faulkner. But Bellow's prose reminded me of nothing so much as a Persian carpet---colorful, ornate, and full of useless little frills that lead nowhere, do not relate to much, and yet add such richness to the text. Some examples that I liked (but the novel is chock full of them) p.156 "For there was his stability in the green leather seat, plus his unshaking, high-placed knees beside the jade onion of the gear knob, his hands trimmed with sandy hairs on the wheel, the hypersmoothness of the motor that made you feel deceived in the speedometer that stood at eighty."
p.205 on the ancient Greeks " But still they are the admiration of the rest of the mud-sprung, famine-knifed, street-pounding, war-rattled, difficult, painstaking, kicked in the belly, grief and cartilage mankind, the multitude, some under a coal-sucking Vesuvius of chaos smoke, some inside a heaving Calcutta midnight, who very well know where they are."
p.227 `Well, now, who can really expect the daily facts to go, toil or prisons to go, oatmeal and laundry tickets and all the rest, and insist that all moments be raised to the greatest importance, demand that everyone breathe the pointy, star-furnished air at its highest difficulty, abolish all brick, vault-like rooms, all dreariness, and live like prophets or gods ?"
Wow ! If you like writing like this, if you want a rich feast of language, Bellow is your man and this is your novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A unique coming-of-age story
Review: "The Adventures of Augie March" is a coming-of-age story about a young man who grows up in a working-class Jewish neighborhood of Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. Augie is intelligent and articulate, but he seems to wander through life passively with no definite goals and not many interests. As the Depression hits, he is forced to postpone his academic pursuits in order to make a living, taking a wide variety of odd jobs, including stealing books, organizing labor unions, and working as a research assistant to an eccentric wealthy man writing a book about wealthy people. Eventually he decides to become a schoolteacher, but even this profession is relatively short-lived. The novel culminates in Augie's discovery that he must align himself with the "axial lines" of his life. Augie's "adventures" consist mainly of his getting entangled in various affairs of his relatives, friends, girlfriends, and employers. These episodes range dramatically from his nearly getting caught by the police in a stolen car, to his accompaniment of his friend Mimi to an abortionist and her subsequent grave illness (probably a bold thing to write about at the time), to helping his girlfriend Thea train an eagle to hunt lizards in Mexico. (Thea finds, to her frustration, that she can train neither the eagle nor Augie.) This is a bizarre assortment of events, but the depiction of each is strangely realistic and unique. The narration is masterfully constructed with Bellow's erudite prose and penchant for rich description. Reading this novel is challenging but ultimately rewarding.
Rating:
Summary: A unique coming-of-age story
Review: "The Adventures of Augie March" is a coming-of-age story about a young man who grows up in a working-class Jewish neighborhood of Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. Augie is intelligent and articulate, but he seems to wander through life passively with no definite goals and not many interests. As the Depression hits, he is forced to postpone his academic pursuits in order to make a living, taking a wide variety of odd jobs, including stealing books, organizing labor unions, and working as a research assistant to an eccentric wealthy man writing a book about wealthy people. Eventually he decides to become a schoolteacher, but even this profession is relatively short-lived. The novel culminates in Augie's discovery that he must align himself with the "axial lines" of his life. Augie's "adventures" consist mainly of his getting entangled in various affairs of his relatives, friends, girlfriends, and employers. These episodes range dramatically from his nearly getting caught by the police in a stolen car, to his accompaniment of his friend Mimi to an abortionist and her subsequent grave illness (probably a bold thing to write about at the time), to helping his girlfriend Thea train an eagle to hunt lizards in Mexico. (Thea finds, to her frustration, that she can train neither the eagle nor Augie.) This is a bizarre assortment of events, but the depiction of each is strangely realistic and unique. The narration is masterfully constructed with Bellow's erudite prose and penchant for rich description. Reading this novel is challenging but ultimately rewarding.
Rating:
Summary: Soul Walking
Review: (In response to various clowns, bores and book clubbers): Refusing to connect with Augie March is refusing to acknowledge the shots of brillance that can and should be absorbed while traversing through a universally chipped paint existance. To stop yourself short from engaging in the lets-run-through-the-park momentum of Augie's adventure, the thinking person's adventure, our adventure, is to settle for a poster of Paris because the trip is too much the hassle. Fair enough, the "adventure" had by Augie is Not an A to B plot-o-rama, spoon fed lessons learned, ring tosses at color coated Truth. Looks out, he's coming of age...and...he does it! Phew. No, it's not that. It's not loads of misanthropic scandal and unhinged naked nubiles to hold interest. It does expect a little more from us. But simple pages does not an interesting book make. Simple ideas lead to a hobby of televsion watching. Simple perspectives lead to lonely walks, and race riots, and war. If, the senses are geared up for expansion, then stretch out further and get in deeper, dig around in the broken shards and look in the windows, take up a new rhythm, don't turn it off. This book is vitality. Augie is taking us with him gang, all we have to do is tag along, and for the love of god, when the opportunity is there, by all means, pack quickly and go.
Rating:
Summary: drop everything. stop and ardour this novel.
Review: absolutely essential if you are a young man (in his twenties) like i am. this is an exploration of a boys quest for other peoples pragmatism which at first, in each case he beleives to be beyond him by way of the affectations of absolute understanding imposed on his attentive personnality by them. these people define their own reality by their own authority whereas augie has not the confidence to do this. the turning point in the novel is when he realises that these people have no more authority than he does. this he realises from his meeting this girl "thea" who overshoots all of the boundaries that have been set by his previous opressive but intently beneficial influences. bellow finally concludes by introducing a new character that is a figure for endurance (as is the millionaire cripple einhorn) and suggesting that although augie is with an inapropriate whoman, and that he may never find it, that he will never give up on the idea that he will find love.
it is a difficult book with some obscure (modernist) proustian strange stuff that is incongruous with the down to earth pragmatism of the theme. but it is beutiffully written. and i found it a hard slog but am so glad that i endured it - things in life are often difficult. this is my desert island book. its greatness didnt hit me at first, but it did, and now i am convinced that if i hadnt read it i would lack ninety nine percent of the success that i have had since. my language fails me. just read it.
Rating: 
Summary: the Century's most over rated author
Review: After the intellectual Left killed off God, they found themselves staring into the abyss; absent God what is the meaning of life? There have been many, mostly feeble, attempts to answer this question. The most disastrous have, of course, been Darwinism--we exist to propagate the species, Hegelianism/Marxism--there are World Historical forces in control and Existentialism--existence is it's own point. Saul Bellow seems to fall into a loose grouping with the Existentialists and The Adventures of Augie March is essentially an existentialist tract. In a return to the style of the picaresque novels (i.e., Tom Jones), Augie March bobs along from Chicago to Mexico to Europe to an open boat in the Atlantic, experiencing life and meeting a variety of characters--observing without judging, experiencing without changing, seeking without finding. Critics claim that this is a life affirming book; but life does not need to be affirmed, it simply is. One recalls Dr. Johnson's response to the argument that the material world does not exist: he kicked a rock and said, "I refute it thus!" The task before us as human beings is to find or bring meaning to life. Great literature illuminates the human condition and reveals truths which help us discern this meaning. Bellow fails in this basic task and does so at mindnumbing length. GRADE: F
Rating:
Summary: Born on the Fourth of July
Review: An elegant, poetic walk through the life of a uniquely American character. Augie March goes humbly into Depression-era America and, in the search for the best inside himself, finds he's too often on the receiving-end of someone else's plan. Augie's a capable but passive soul that is trumped by the formidable characters that make up his life, time and again. What appears to be an incurable restlessness and the 'born recruit' label is the courage to live and look inward, out of everyone's view. Finding himself doing everything from stealing books to going down in a sinking ship, Augie's life is one you'll be glad you sat in on. Saul Bellow's writing is beyond my ability to describe...see for yourself. Very dense and not for speed-readers.
Rating: 
Summary: I have been reading this book for TEN MONTHS now
Review: and I'm only up to page 175. Granted, in the past ten months, I have read about 40 other books, but still....
The first two books I ever read by Bellow were the first two books he wrote: "Dangling Man," and "The Victim." I didn't love them, but I did like them, and they did not take me long to complete.
Then I read "Mr. Sammler's Planet" and "Herzog," and I LOVED them.
Then I read the novella "Seize the Day," which I didn't care for, and it took me forever to finish, despite its short length.
So, now I'm reading "Augie," and I've set a goal to finish this book by New Year's Day, 2005. But I have a feeling I should change that "5" to a "6."
Fellow readers, send some good vibes my way that I finish this book by 2005, or else I may be "marching" with Augie until I draw my last breath!
P.S. Because of my love for "Herzog" and "Sammler," I will never give up on Saul Bellow. I have "Humboldt's Gift" waiting patiently on my bookshelf for me.
Rating:
Summary: The Adventures of Augie March is an amazing accomplishment
Review: Anyone who has ever wondered where life is taking them will appreciate Bellow's "The Adventures of Augie March." Bellow takes readers on a colorful journey through Depression-era Chicago, incorporating numerous characters, all of whom are memorable. But the strength of "March" lies in it's message. Simply, "the only possessing is of the moment. If you're able." Augie fails a lot in this book, but Bellow is proud of his protagonist, for it is through these failures that Augie eventually succeeds. It is through these failures that he ultimately gains possession of the moment. This book is a wonderful commentary on human nature and the forces which drive us to succeed. Anyone reading this book will gain a new appreciation for Bellow's interpretation of meaningful success. I can't recommend this book enough.
Rating:
Summary: Do People Really Talk Like This?
Review: As a sum of landscapes, spaces and altitudes, America as a wilderness has already been explored. In fact, while early American history reveled in the most basic of freedoms that can be found in various lands untrod, the urge that drives us towards (and often away from) freedom remains--sometimes as a nuisance, almost always as a kind of tug away from the quotidian and run-of-the-mill. It's a distinctly American drive that leads us to defy laws and morays, explore the unexplored permutations of our innermost selves, and to transcend the expectations of family, friends and, of course, ourselves. Saul Bellow's "The Adventures of Augie March," ostensibly a celebration of the life in the 1930s of a sensitive drifter and searcher, is also a transfiguration of the American novel: The story of a Huckleberry Finn of the urban milleux. Predating Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" by nearly a decade, "The Adventures of Augie March" tells the story of a young man from an impoverished Chicago neighborhood who rejects conventional expectations that he make the best of all good situations that, in other lives, would have led to riches and satisfaction. While his brother Simon goes out to find the quickest way to taste the cream of the business world, only to discover that it isn't at all the way to the happiness he'd imagined, Augie--a man who never quite makes the break from childhood into manhood but instead continues on the same unbroken line of judging the world through what refractions the lenses of his emotions augur--continually renews himself through a series of piqaresque adventures as he searches for "the axial lines" of his life. After a miserably unsuccessful flirtation with petty crime (he helps a hoodlum buddy break into a basement), Augie, part of an entire generation of men who really didn't stand a chance at success in the world, at least once the Great Depression descended, journeys through the eccentricities of Chicago, a town that, like Augie, rejected the more conventional ways and means of the East Coast establishment as it came into its own as a great city. Falling under the official and unofficial tuteledges of a variety of oddballs, schnooks and characters, Augie often lucks out, too, meeting beautiful heiresses and slipping into High Society almost without really realizing it. However, regardless of the chance at ensnaring the easy dream, Augie withdraws, to the confoundment of his friends and mentors, only to be reborn again. Perhaps the most sparkling episode occurs when Augie, enamored by the unconventional activities of his girlfriend, Thea, follows her to Mexico--where she buys an eagle and trains it to hunt huge lizards. How on earth did either of them manage to sleep with that eagle sitting on the dresser of the hotel room? Of course, regardless of the exotic character of this infatuation, the mission fails and Augie returns to Chicago, metaphor and emblem of all the freedom for which Augie yearns. Each episode is represented by one of several paradigmatic figures; each episode a stage of a hero's journey, a step on darkened glass that cannot help but mirror a phase of every man's life. Poignantly possessing the colorations and expressive details of the hardships, the oddball twists and the distortions of American dreams mutated by the trials of economic depravity, "The Adventures of Augie March," Saul Bellow's earliest great novel, ruminates and vents like the wind across Lake Michigan. Of course, Augie is smarter than he thinks he is. If there is any imperfection at all in the story, it's that Augie is simply too smart to be believed.
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