> On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:10:02 +0000 (UTC)
> 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
>
> > As for Bellow: Augie March was dazzling writing!
> > A hugely talented writer with not much to say.
> > The Bernini of American literature.
>
> That's a very funny comparison, especially for a
> guy like me who's always been firmly in the Borromini
> camp. But even as a non-fan of Bernini I think it's
> too flattering to Bellow. Not only does he have
> nothing to say, but to my ear, he's damn tedious
> saying it -- all these wooly abstractions constantly
> slung around, imprecise, vaguely-sketched images,
> metaphors that don't click....
>
> But Joanna is in good company. Philip Roth, a writer
> I adore, thinks very highly of boring old Uncle Saul.
> Go figure.
>
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Anyone harboring affection or admiration for Bellow need only read, or re-read, Humboldt's Gift or Mr. Sammler's Planet to be cured of that sentiment.