The Victim (Penguin Classics)

One sultry summer in New York shortly after the end of the war, Asa Leventhal is left to his own devices when his wife, Mary leaves to tend to her mother down South. Asa is Jewish and writes for a trade magazine and is a self made man who has endured tough times but rose above them. During this hot, desultory time, Asa is accosted by an old, down on his luck acquaintance named, Albee. Asa is also helping, somewhat, to look after his brother's family while his brother works in another state. Max, the brother, has left behind two boys and his Italian wife, Elena. One of the boys is very sick and Asa takes ferry rides over to Staten Island to check on the family.It becomes apparent that Albee is following Asa. Albee blames Asa for his downfall and his firing from a job in which he put in a good word for Asa, but Asa got caught up in a heated argument with the boss and the boss subsequently fired Albee. Albee is a pain in the you know what. He stalks Asa with no mercy. He ends up in Asa's flat. All the while, Asa questions his own actions in the downfall of Albee. Neither man can get a handle on his own actions and each blames the other for their frustration. Asa's stems from the fact that he endures endless quibs from people who are prejudice against his race (such as Albee) and also from the fact that he feels guilty for his moderate success when people like Albee fall from grace or maybe, never really had a chance. Anyway, as far as I can see, neither man can never really own up and it becomes a comedy of sorts with each man doing a dance. Albee dances around Asa saying he owes him, and Asa dances around saying that Albee is driving him crazy. As the days wear on, the heat is intense and these two imbeciles keep up their dance until the breaking point.There is a lot of inner dialog in The Victim. Asa scrutinizes everything, especially his interactions with others-he is constantly questioning himself and other people in their meaning of a look, a gesture or in what they say-much like humans do every day. That is the appeal of this book and much of Bellow's writing. Bellow's writing is so dense that you really cannot skim or skimp, if you do, you'll be back pedaling to see what you missed. Writers of his talent are rare. I always enjoy reading his works. He includes a lot of details but the way he writes never bores me and I never skim or skip ahead no matter the description or detail.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I could read it again. If you are new to Saul Bellow, you might be better off to start with Henderson The Rain King as this is one of Bellow's earlier works and doesn't appeal to all. Bellow's characters are life like, which is why he was a winner of so many awards, including the Nobel Prize. These honors are spot on, for Bellow is one of the best writers of the last century.

Saul Bellow's second novel 'The Victim' was published in 1947. He must have written it after news of the Holocaust reached North America. The protagonist, Asa Leventhal, is a mensch and feels guilty about the fate of his fellow Jews, although he can't speak it. Instead his thoughts overtake him and he has a psychological breakdown. This lasts about six weeks during a sweltering New York summer. The reader may understand Kirby Albee to be a real character but Bellow may have meant that Albee (I'll be) is an imagined alter ego. Albee has the exact opposite in looks and traits that Leventhal has, and Albee is also a gentile. Leventhal's friends accept him while he is tormented by 'this man that comes around.' One friend says, 'Are you in your right mind?' 'You want to be two people?' These are hints that Albee may be a figment of Leventhal's imagination. The friends also know that his mother was insane. Author Bellow is a master at describing all five senses to the reader in a concise style. You can feel the heat, hear the clang of the Staten Island ferry chains, etc. His book 'The Victim' is a must read for his precise descriptions, story telling, characters and perfection of the novel.

Great writingTells a wonderful and thoughtful story preemption and lost great pl a e to start reading bellows home in orded

Not my favorite

Very happy with this product. The intense creativity that is inherent in the prose of Saul Bellow is a tremendous joy.

I enjoyed this book very much. I am reading Saul Bellow in order, so this is my second Saul Bellow novel after "Dangling Man". I have enjoyed both of these novels. They are very different novels. Dangling Man is composed in the form of diary entries. The Victim is in a more traditional narrative form. As far as The Victm, there were times I was completely gripped by the story. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who has not read the novel. As I will explain below, there were times that I was sure that something dreadful was going to happen to either the protagonist, Leventhal, or his wife. At the same time, I cannot say I really liked Leventhal.I read a lot but have little formal education in literature. Nothing more than the college intro to literature type course. Having said that, this novel seemed "Kafka-esque" at times and, at times, reminded me of "The Trial" by Kafka. I had read The Trial in the past. The Trial is a very a disquieting story that constantly leaves the reader in a state of ambiguity. The Trial was published in 1925. Mr. Kafka comes from a family of Jewish tradition as does Saul Bellow. This book, The Victim, was written just after World War II and Kafka did suffer persecution by the Nazis.I did get the sense that Saul Bellow was allowing for the possibility of anti semitism as part of this novel. But all of th anti semitism is inferred and could be denied. I found that interesting in a different light. This book was published in 1947. In that same year, Laura C. Hobson published her very fine and very readable novel, "Gentleman's Agreement". In this book anti semitism is often subtle and unspoken. In that context, these two novels, published in the same year, reminded me of each other.As I said, in reading Kafka's The Trial, one is left in a state of ambiguity. I could not understand why the protagonist was in trouble and he suffered a dreadful fate. In reading this book, The Victim, I sensed the same ambiguity. I could not determine the time frame setting for this novel. I found that disquieting. I do not wish to spoil the story, but you will see that there is a certain associate of Leventhal who seems bizarre and to me, Kafka-esque. Both protagonists in both novels seem to have their fates cast adrift and are subject to the whims of others. As I continued to relate one novel to the other, I began to suffer dread for the fate of either the protagonist or his wife. It was an eerie feeling. That experience may be part of the reason I was so affected by this novel.

the protagonist is pursued by a man convinced his life has been ruined by something the protagonist did/said many years ago.at first the accusation seems ridiculous and the lifelong grudge totally unreasonable and unfair.feeling sorry for him the protagonist spends longer and longer in the company of his accuser.gradually he succumbs to the man's story and comes to believe in his own guilt.unable to shake off his accuser he descends into a nightmare of fear and paranoia.as with Dostoyevsky the workings of the mind, the darker recesses of the human psyche are fabulously exploredas with Dostoyevsky The Victim is an education all in itself as well as first rate entertainment