An essential masterwork by Nobel laureate Saul Bellow--now with an
introduction by J. M. Coetzee
A Penguin Classic
Expecting to be inducted into the army to fight in World War II, Joseph
has given up his job and carefully prepared for his departure to the
battlefront. When a series of mix-ups delays his induction, he finds
himself facing a year of idleness. Saul Bellow's first novel documents
Joseph's psychological reaction to his inactivity while war rages around
him and his uneasy insights into the nature of freedom and choice.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of
classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700
titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works
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notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as
up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.