513. Seize the Day

Seize the Day
Saul Bellow
1956
Around 130 pages

I am not a Bellowfellow, and yet, the List is forcing me to read seven of his works. At least this one was short and marginally more interesting than his other works. There I go again, gushing all over the place.

Tommy Wilhelm is a failed actor in his 40s (I don't think you're a failure if you haven't made it by then, but for the purposes of this story, he's a loser). He is a separated from his wife, who won't grant him a divorce, and is estranged from his two sons. He also has a complicated relationship with his father, which is further complicated when he moves into the same building.

So Tommy spends the entire novel pretty much whining, and I can't help but compare this to The Floating Opera, which also featured a day in the life of an unhappy protagonist. But John Barth was funnier and his characters were less irritating. I also found the ending to be anti-climatic. I'm not complaining that this was a short novel, but it did feel rather incomplete. 

Our streak had to end sometime.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a film in 1986 starring Robin Williams. Ew.

UP NEXT: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin