"The best novel to come out of America--or England--for a
generation." --V.S. Pritchett, The New York Review of Books
A Penguin Classic
In this unique noir masterpiece by the incomparable Saul Bellow, a young
man is sucked into the mysterious, heat-filled vortex of New York City.
Asa Leventhal, a temporary bachelor with his wife away on a visit to her
mother, attempts to find relief from a Gotham heat wave, only to be
accosted in the park by a down-at-the-heels stranger who accuses
Leventhal of ruining his life. Unable to shake the stranger loose,
Leventhal is led by his own self-doubts and suspicions into a nightmare
of paranoia and fear.
This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by National Book
Award winner Norman Rush.
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.