Reviews for Mosby's Memoirs and Other Stories

The average rating for Mosby's Memoirs and Other Stories based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-09-14 00:00:00 Anthony Greco Despite being "Brilliant", a "Major Work", "Extraordinary", and "Masterpieces" I found the six stories in this collection to be good but not exceptional. I think this was my fourth, or maybe fifth, book of Saul Bellow's that I've read, and so far none of them have done much for me. Augie March I enjoyed better when it was called Studs Lonigan (but not by much, I didn't really enjoy that one so much either)*. Henderson the Rain King I liked better as the one Graham Greene book I read and didn't enjoy so much (that would be Heart of the Matter, I'm ducking out of the way to avoid the wrath of the Graham Greene contingent now). And Seize the Day? Well it didn't seize my memory, I can't remember much about that one. Just like I don't really remember much about any of these stories, even though I read them just a few weeks ago. This may be an unfair comparison, but Saul Bellow reminds me of an edgier literary version of that vapid Christian painter Thomas Kinkade. Maybe I'm just not getting into well-crafted realistic fiction these days. But then I'm also feeling alienated by edgy / non-realism literary fiction, too, so maybe there is no pleasing me these days. I did find a couple of these stories to be to my liking though. "Mosby's Memoirs" I found quite funny, although I should have apparently found it to be a story that "circles unerringly toward an inner abyss" (I think I actually really hated all the copy on the front and back cover. "The Old System" I also enjoyed, but I'm a sucker for really Jewey stories. Maybe that is what I don't like about Bellow, for a Jewish writer he's so freaking goyim. There are too many WASPS and not enough Jews in what I've read by him, or too much WASP sensibility or something. Too much Updike blah and not enough Roth goodness. I'm done making an ass of myself for this review. *I just noticed I gave Augie March four stars and Studs Lonigan three stars. I don't know what I was thinking. March was a pre-goodreads book, rated in my initial flurry of rating, I should go back and change it but I won't.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-01-22 00:00:00 Nelson Dittmar Sei racconti, scritti tra il 1951 e il 1968: "ciascuno verte su un'esperienza inizialmente insignificante e alla fine profondamente significativa", rileva la quarta di copertina. I più sono come sempre ricchi e, direi, piacevolmente complessi, l'ultimo, "La memorie di Mosby", è decisamente ostico, troppo per me. (Bellow è spesso un po' contorto, e ciò risulta attraente, ma oltre certi limiti diventa eccessivamente arduo da decifrare e mette a disagio.)