"An enduring testament and prophecy." -Chicago Sun-Times
A Penguin Classic
Mr. Artur Sammler, Holocaust survivor, intellectual, and occasional
lecturer at Columbia University in 1960s New York City, is a "registrar
of madness," a refined and civilized being caught among people crazy
with the promises of the future (moon landings, endless possibilities).
His Cyclopean gaze reflects on the degradations of city life while
looking deep into the sufferings of the human soul. "Sorry for all and
sore at heart," he observes how greater luxury and leisure have only led
to more human suffering. To Mr. Sammler--who by the end of this
ferociously unsentimental novel has found the compassionate
consciousness necessary to bridge the gap between himself and his fellow
beings--a good life is one in which a person does what is "required of
him." To know and to meet the "terms of the contract" was as true a life
as one could live. At its heart, this novel is quintessential Bellow:
moral, urbane, sublimely humane.
This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by Stanley
Crouch.
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
throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the
series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and
notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as
up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
