This volume contributes another precious painting in the great art gallery of critical responses to Saul Bellow’s works. Thanks to the writings of leading Bellovian critics, the book is a valued source not only to Bellow scholars but also to others interested in his works and, since it checks the scope of Bellow’s political philosophy and the social and political environment, his political leanings and ideas. It provides insights into an important aspect of Bellow and his writing.
In the first chapter Judie Newman brilliantly examines the shift of affections from Bellow’s early embrace of Trotskyism to his later, longer-lasting commitment to neoconservatism. She subsequently looks at his early writings, namely his short stories and specific examples from Dangling Man and The Adventures of Augie March, to demonstrate that during this period Bellow’s own political philosophy advances from Trotskyism to social democracy. Although Bellow later regards his political adolescence as...
