The Dean's December: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox book |
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| name = The Dean's December |
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| image = Image:TheDeansDecember.jpg |
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| border = yes |
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| caption = First edition cover |
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| author = [[Saul Bellow]] |
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| country = United States |
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| language = English |
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| genre = |
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| publisher = [[Harper & Row]] |
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| release_date = [[1982 in literature|1982]] |
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| english_release_date = |
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| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback) |
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| pages = 346 |
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| preceded_by = [[Humboldt's Gift]] |
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| followed_by = [[More Die of Heartbreak]] |
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}} |
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{{Short description|1982 novel by Saul Bellow}} |
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==Brief synopsis== |
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Set in [[Chicago]] and [[Bucharest]], the book's main character, Albert Corde, a meditative academic who faces a crisis, accompanies his [[Romania]]n-born [[Astrophysics|astrophysicist]] wife to her [[Communist Romania|Communist-ruled]] native country, where they deal with the death of his mother-in-law. This sojourn allows Corde to observe the workings of a [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] regime in particular and the [[Eastern Bloc]] in general, a perspective which provides him with insight into the [[human condition]]. |
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==Reception== |
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In [[The New York Times Book Review]], critic Robert Towers concluded, "''The Dean's December'' confirms me in the opinion I have held since, nearly 30 years ago, I read ''The Adventures of Augie March'' (having, as an impecunious instructor, paid out hard cash for my hardcover copy just off the press): Sentence by sentence, page by page, Saul Bellow is simply the best writer that we have."<ref>Robert Tower, " A Novel of Politics, Wit and Sorrow," The New York Times Book Review, January 10, 1982.</ref> |
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Writing in [[The Phoenix (newspaper) | The Boston Phoenix]], Mark Shechner felt just the opposite. "Let me say plainly that ''The Dean's December'' is a bad piece of work: a dull book and a false one. ... The book is entirely lacking in steam. ... [It] sinks beneath the weight of its own factitiousness."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shechner |first1=Mark |title=The dean's despair |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_boston-phoenix_1982-02-02_11_5/page/n57/mode/1up |access-date=July 12, 2024 |work=The Boston Phoenix |date=February 2, 1982}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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* {{OL work}} |
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* [https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/25/reviews/bellow-december.html The New York Times Book Review on The Dean's December] |
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{{SaulBellow}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean's December, The}} |
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[[Category:1982 American novels]] |
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[[Category:Bucharest in fiction]] |
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[[Category:Socialist Republic of Romania]] |
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[[Category:Novels by Saul Bellow]] |
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[[Category:Novels set in Chicago]] |
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[[Category:Harper & Row books]] |
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{{1980s-novel-stub}} |
{{1980s-novel-stub}} |
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Latest revision as of 16:25, 12 July 2024
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Saul Bellow |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
Publication date | 1982 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 346 |
| Preceded by | Humboldt's Gift |
| Followed by | More Die of Heartbreak |
The Dean's December is a 1982 novel by the American author Saul Bellow. It is his ninth novel, and the first novel Bellow published after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976.
Brief synopsis
[edit]Set in Chicago and Bucharest, the book's main character, Albert Corde, a meditative academic who faces a crisis, accompanies his Romanian-born astrophysicist wife to her Communist-ruled native country, where they deal with the death of his mother-in-law. This sojourn allows Corde to observe the workings of a totalitarian regime in particular and the Eastern Bloc in general, a perspective which provides him with insight into the human condition.
Reception
[edit]In The New York Times Book Review, critic Robert Towers concluded, "The Dean's December confirms me in the opinion I have held since, nearly 30 years ago, I read The Adventures of Augie March (having, as an impecunious instructor, paid out hard cash for my hardcover copy just off the press): Sentence by sentence, page by page, Saul Bellow is simply the best writer that we have."[1]
Writing in The Boston Phoenix, Mark Shechner felt just the opposite. "Let me say plainly that The Dean's December is a bad piece of work: a dull book and a false one. ... The book is entirely lacking in steam. ... [It] sinks beneath the weight of its own factitiousness."[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Robert Tower, " A Novel of Politics, Wit and Sorrow," The New York Times Book Review, January 10, 1982.
- ^ Shechner, Mark (February 2, 1982). "The dean's despair". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
External links
[edit]
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