Bellow, Saul

More Die of Heartbreak

ISBN: 0688069355
New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, 1987. First Edition. Hardcover. “Explaining why he left his native Paris for the Middle West, Kenneth, the erratic narrator of More Die of Heartbreak, says, ‘The U.S.A. is where the action is.’ But he came also to be near his beloved uncle, the world class botanist Benn Crader, a specialist in the anatomy and morphology of plants, and to learn life’s wisdom from him. Benn, himself furiously restless, a demon traveler, will not stay put. Indian forests, Chinese mountains, Brazilian jungles, the Antarctic: Why does he run around so much? He admits that his restlessness has an erotic cause. Absorption in plant studies is not enough for him. He seeks human satisfactions as well. What he longs for is a peaceful life, far from the mad ordeals of twentieth-century sexuality. ‘Two human beings bound together in love and kindness.’ What one commonly finds instead is: ‘Two psychopaths under one quilt.’” Nobel Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Saul Bellow (1915-2005) brings us his 10th novel about a troubled man, Kenneth, looking for guidance and answers in the face of uncertainty. His eccentric Uncle Benn takes him in, though he may have fewer answers than his nephew. Grappling with humanity and happiness, both men seek satisfaction and fulfillment in their lives but keep falling short. The mother of Kenneth’s daughter does not want to marry him, and Benn’s new wife and in-laws have questionable motives. Readers will become invested in the characters, riding the waves of irony as plots unfold and secrets are slowly revealed. From the collection of Dr. Stanley Hurwick Levy (1926-2020), American physician who met & conferred with Albert Einstein while a student prodigy at Princeton University during the 1940s & was one of the most legendarily prolific book collectors of them all, over many years. Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with “$17.95” price on front flap): First Edition, as stated on copyright page, First Printing, as indicated by number sequence thereon. Book is in Fine condition with minor bumping to the corners of front, back covers; very minor spotting on the canvas paste-down near the bottom edge of front cover. Dust jacket is in Fine condition with minor-to-moderate bumping, creasing to the fine edges and corners of front, back covers & spine; minor rubbing, scratching to front, back covers. Fine / Fine. [Item #6244]

Price: $70.00