Ravelstein (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
by Saul Bellow
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 394)
Read in March, 2008
This book won a Nobel prize and because of this I feel like I need to give it another shot. I took me about 100 pages before I finally got into it. I'm not a big fan of stream-of-consciousness writing, so that might be what put me off. I also had a hard time picturing Ravelstein in my head: his mannerisms, his physical stature, his clumsiness, his occasional stuttering. I don't know why. Even now I still struggle with this pieced-together image in my head of my old political philosphy professor ...more
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People who know me are aware of my proclivity for random tangents in the middle of conversations. But even I am able to keep on point better than Bellow, who's stream of consciousness meandering left me unsure what the plot of the book was even after finishing. If pressed, I'd say the book was a series of random anecdotes about a fictional character that don't follow any particular timeline or make any particular point. It was also quite repetitive, the same stories were told over and over, a...more
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I don't know about "great books of the 20th Century". This came recommended by a professor after we had been talking about Allan Bloom, and gave pretty much what was expected: a touching (but anonymous) portrait of a professor who was seemingly a wonderful person to his intimate friends, although a complete dick to many others. I highly recommend the Martha Nussbaum NYRB review of Bloom's "Closing of the American Mind," which is about the best academic bitch-slapping you'll e...more
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Read in February, 2008
"Ravelstein" is a thin roman a clef about Alan Bloom, the noted professor of political philosophy and author of "Closing of the American Mind." It is also a meditation and musing on life, death, and friendship.
This was my first encounter with Saul Bellow, and I rather liked it. It might be a bit too stream of consciousness; it was hard to get a sense of the timeline. The narrative, though, is strong and the book overall is downright touching at times.
This was my first encounter with Saul Bellow, and I rather liked it. It might be a bit too stream of consciousness; it was hard to get a sense of the timeline. The narrative, though, is strong and the book overall is downright touching at times.
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fiction
Read in March, 2008
Bellow has always been a tough read for me; I read Mr. Sammler's Planet in college and didn't get very far in Herzog some time later. I enjoyed Ravelstein, but I can't say that I "got it." Probably in the context of a literature class I would have loved it and written a paper about it, but as a casual read without guidance, I felt like I was only skimming the surface. Yet another reason I'm glad I quit grad school when I did.
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Read in November, 2005
Bellow's last novel, this tells the fictionalized story of the philosopher Allan Bloom and the ambiguities and contradictions of his life, a story which in turn illuminates the narrator's account of his own life. The stories don't mesh quite as deftly as Bellow has managed in other novels of this sort, but the portrait of Bloom as viewed through the character of Abe Ravelstein is really compelling.
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Read in March, 2007
Eric's vocal love for Bellow convinced me to finally pick up this book, which had been sitting on my shelf for well over a year. An excellent character study of a man. Surprisingly (perhaps, since I probably should have been exposed to it earlier), I must thank Ravelstein for introducing me to Plato's Symposium and especially to Aristophanes.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
no one
I learned I cannot read this book. I hate the style of writing and I hate the snobbery. Would be very willing to trade it off. It's in very good condition as I only opened it once and then didn't get very far.
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
people like me
This is one of the best books I've ever read. I first read it a couple years ago, and it's my favourite Saul Bellow book. I think he's an author you either love or hate, so it may not be for everyone.
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Read in April, 2007
A very enjoyable, easy read. Bellow creates wonderfully engaging characters, but his attempts to throw some philosophical ruminations into the story are middling at best.
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Read in December, 2006
Bellow is an outstanding writer and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found myself constantly rereading entire paragraphs because they were so brilliantly constructed.
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Decided to give this a try after giving up on Augie March. Bellow's just not my man. All the French phrases and elitist literary / other references make me sick.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
conservatives/straussians
Bellow provies a very different view of a conservative hero in this thinly veiled bio of Allan Bloom - profligate, gossippy, and unabashedly gay. an excellent read.
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Not up to some of his others but an interesting look into the U of C. I kept wondering who different characters were which took something away from the book for me.
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Really entertaining "fictious" biography of Allan Bloom. If you're familiar with this guy, and his influence on the Neocons, read it. Fascinating character.
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Uno de esos malos comienzos con un autor al que uno quiere querer. De él escuchaba maravillas y, pum, me compro el libro equivocado.
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Read in January, 2000
Best roman-a-clef that outed a closeted cultural conservative I've ever read. But still only decent.
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
people who like Saul Bellow
It's good, but I don't reread it the way I would with "Henderson The Rain King"
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Read in November, 2005
recommended to Wm Jas by:
Saul Bellow's obituary
It was okay, but I had been led to expect brilliance and was disappointed.
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Great book about the intricacies of friendship, relationships and life.
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