- Hardcover: 341 pages
- Publisher: Penguin USA; 1st Edition edition (Dec 1959)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670366552
- ISBN-13: 978-0670366552
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 15.5 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,741,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
a A kind of wildly delirious dream made real by the force of Bellowas rollicking prose and the offbeat inventiveness of his language.a
a"Chicago Tribune"
a Bellowas aura of fable is constantly washed over by humor, impulsive creation, and actual, turbulent detail.a
a"The Nation" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
a"Chicago Tribune"
a Bellowas aura of fable is constantly washed over by humor, impulsive creation, and actual, turbulent detail.a
a"The Nation" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Product Description
Bellow evokes all the rich colour and exotic customs of a highly imaginary Africa in this comic novel about a middle-aged American millionaire who, seeking a new, more rewarding life, descends upon an African tribe. Henderson's awesome feats of strength and his unbridled passion for life earns him the admiration of the tribe - but it is his gift for making rain that turns him from mere hero into messiah. A hilarious, often ribald story, HENDERSON THE RAIN KING is also a profound look at the forces that drive a man through life.
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book proves that great writing can be readable. I read this novel for the first time over twenty years ago, several times in between, and it was just as wonderful last week. You laugh, you cry, you empathize. If you're tired of beach books, but also weary of pseudointellectual book snobs who tell you that prose must be labyrinthine to be literature, and that laughable isn't laudable, take this book on vacation and share it with a friend.
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of my personal favorites. An inspiring novel that will strike a chord in the heart of anyone who has felt in need of something greater in their lives than themselves, Henderson the Rain King is a hectic journey of one man through not only the world, but life and, perhaps most importantly, his own soul. Henderson is constantly in a process of becoming in his own mind, and in his fervor to try and metamorphasize into a type of finished being, he fails to notice that through his evolution he is achieving his goal of simply existing. He is lovably egocentric; existing as the sun of his own universe while striving to gain an orbit of his own. He uses his wives to try to fill some empty spot in his existance, professing over and over again his love for his current wife, with little notice or mention of any real depth or desire that she may possess, speaking only of her beauty and creating a view of the female gender that smacks of Hemingway. Henderson's deficiency is one of the soul, and enlightenment is the only path which will bring him peace. He possesses a jaded love of life, in so much as he has experienced enough horror in the world that he cannot look upon it in wide-eyed wonder, but is struck profoundly by the sights and moments in life which are filled with rough hewn and genuine beauty which do inspire in him a sense of awe. It is these moments and spaces of depth within his soul which make his dark optimism for life so endearing. He is, as he himself says, a creature constantly becoming, yet it is through this constant evolution that he reaches his goal, finds peace, and fulfills the "I want"s. He is a man not of thought but of action, and it is only from within himself that he may realize that it is only through perpetual becoming that Henderson the Rain King may exist.
Format:Paperback
Saul Bellow has created a wonderful off the wall at times, complex easy reading novel - its about a man's yearning and searching with the words "I want" going around in his head leading him on to find himself. This book had me laughing out loud and wondering about the many insightful happenings and wisdom from the characters that have profound teachings. This is a real mix and different, I also loved the backdrop of Africa that the story weaves around - this book will be well remembered after, and for me it will always leave a smile on my face when I remember it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fell below expectations
I expected this to be a much better book than it was - as, after all, it is a 'classic'.
Our book group chose to read it last month, and not one of us enjoyed i; we are quite... Read more
Our book group chose to read it last month, and not one of us enjoyed i; we are quite... Read more
Published 23 months ago by AMparr
The emperor's new clothes..
A case of... ?
Occasionally genuinely amusing and unique in its approach, but more often than not obtuse and vague in its intentions. A real struggle to finish. Read more
Occasionally genuinely amusing and unique in its approach, but more often than not obtuse and vague in its intentions. A real struggle to finish. Read more
Published on 25 July 2005 by Alfie Knox
I am the rain king
The words 'I am the rain king' were the reason that I picked up this book. The lead singer of Counting Crows, Adam Duritz, made me read this book. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2001
And it is hilarious!
Not only does Eugene Henderson's journey of discovery touch and teach the reader, but he is an unbelievable buffoon. This is one of the funniest books -- period. Read more
Published on 11 July 1998
THANX JONI...A WONDERFUL READ
I decided to read this book because I had heard that Joni Mitchell, one of my musical idols, had copped the title of her song "Both Sides, Now" from one of the lines in... Read more
Published on 8 April 1998
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