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Humboldt's Gift
Humboldt's Gift
Author: Saul Bellow
For many years, the great poet Von Humboldt Fleisher and Charlie Citrine, a young man inflamed with a love for literature, were the best of friends. At the time of his death, however, Humboldt is a failure, and Charlie's life has reached a low point: his career is at a standstill, and he's enmeshed in an acrimonious divorce, infatuated w...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780380006557
ISBN-10: 0380006553
Publication Date: 9/1976
Pages: 471
Rating:
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 10

3.2 stars, based on 10 ratings
Publisher: Avon
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Humboldt's Gift on + 64 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Here's what the back cover says: "Never has Saul Bellow's unsurpassed genius for creating full-blooded characters been so penetrating, so charged with exuberant vitality, as in HUMBOLDT'S GIFT. Here Renata, all-woman and then some...Rinaldo, junior-league Mafioso tough...and Charlie, living legend with a frenzied past...live out destinies complicated by the unforgettable Humboldt. And Humboldt--drinker, lover, sometimes bum, and lifetime shadow of Charlie Citrine--plots a dubious revenge for services rendered in the name of friendship."

Here's what I say: I almost never put a book down, but I got as far as pg. 110 out of 471. The characters may be full-blooded in someone's mind, but not mine. They were cartoon caricatures at best. Sorry, Mr. Bellow, this one's not my cup of tea.
reviewed Humboldt's Gift on + 51 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was a tough read but well worth working through. Masterful prose!
Read All 4 Book Reviews of "Humboldts Gift"


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