Bibliofreakblog

More Die of Heartbreak by Saul Bellow

Whenever I hear about lichen or facial sandblasting, which, admittedly, is not often, I think of this book.  It’s kind of a nice way to introduce this book though: science and beauty.  Or, perhaps, the science of beauty.

The story is told by Kenneth, an intellectual who moved back to the Midwest after living in Paris, but it is really about his Uncle Benn, a PhD in microbiology and his penchant for serial monogamy.  There conversations are witty, as these are both seriously smart dudes, but Bellow is a master at revealing character through them, and the narrator’s thoughts.  Fairly early on in the book, Kenneth speaks of Uncle Benn,

“He himself came back to the present moment from very remote places–from his botanical broodings.  Sex drew him back.  As he couldn’t really discuss science with me, he often wanted to talk about ladies.”

And those really are the two loves of Benn’s life: Lichen and women.  He doesn’t speak just about sex (though there’s plenty of talk about that); finally coming back from a broken heart decades ago, he wants marriage, he wants love.  In fact, Kenneth tells him at one point, 

“‘Come on, Uncle, you sound like Jane Austen, with your matches.  You’ve dialed the wrong historical period.  Why don’t you hang up and try again?”

This is particularly funny because Bellow has been criticized as being too much an old-fashioned writer, wanting to bring back a classic style of writing as was popular in the 19th century.

The only thing that really irked me about this book was Kenneth calling Benn “Uncle” all the time.  These were grown men.  I don’t care if he continued to call him “Uncle Benn” but “Uncle” just sounds stupid.  

So, that explain, the lichen–it’s Benn’s specialty.  On sandblasting:  Here we get into the story of Kenneth, which, in my opinion is secondary.  Kenneth’s girlfriend has recently left him, moving to Seattle and taking their young daughter with her.  Kenneth battles his ex to have his daughter with him for part of the year.  His new girlfriend, Dita, feels inadequate in comparison to the ex, and in her quest for the perfection of youthfulness, has her face sandblasted.  It doesn’t really help her any, and in the end, is kinda just gross.  

It’s a nice metaphor though.
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If you like this book/author, you might like:

(my reviews in blue)

The War Against Cliche: Essays and Reviews 1971-2000 by Martin Amis
The Irresponsible Self: On Laughter and the Novel by James Wood
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel, “Rabbit Remembered” by John Updike
The Complete Henry Bech by John Updike
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad
  

Other works by Saul Bellow:

Seize the Day 
Ravelstein 
Dangling Man 
Something to Remember Me by: Three Tales
The Adventures of Augie March 
Him With His Foot In His Mouth and Other Stories 
Herzog 
Henderson the Rain King 
To Jerusalem and Back 
Collected Stories
The Bellarosa Connection
It All Adds Up: From the Dim Past to the Uncertain Future
The Actual 
The Victim 
The Dean’s December 
Humboldt’s Gift 
Mosby’s Memoirs and Other Stories 
A Theft
Mr. Sammler’s Planet