Humboldt's Gift
Books

Humboldt's Gift

by Saul Bellow

1973•Drama•487 pages

Taste attributes: dramacomedyslowfresh & originalheavyrealisticlinearenclosedemotive & stirringself destruction/implosioncomplex relationshipsocial commentary

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Boxlist takeExpect a slow-burning, small-scale novel, fresh rather than familiar. Best if you like close-up stories over spectacle.

Pace: slow · Originality: fresh · Tone: balanced · Weight: heavy · Realism: true to life · Story: balanced · Structure: balanced · Look: balanced · Scale: confined · Emotional punch: balancedHow we score

Open Library rating

3.8 / 5

5 ratings

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About This Book

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 with a highly unsuitable young woman, and involved with a neurotic mafioso.

Description: Open Library

Characteristics

Where this book sits on each taste spectrum

SlowPACEFast
FamiliarORIGINALITYOriginal
DarkTONEWholesome
LightWEIGHTINESSHeavy
FantasyREALISMRealistic
SimpleINTRICACYIntricate
Non-LinearLINEARITYLinear
UnderstatedSTYLEStylised
IntimateSCALEEpic
RestrainedEMOTIONIntense

Genres and themes

DramaComedySelf destruction/implosionComplex relationshipSocial commentary

Subjects

PoetsLegaciesAuthorsAmerican PoetsFriendshipPoets, AmericanHistory

Details

Author
Saul Bellow
Published
1973
Pages
487
Taste scores
How we score

How book matches work

Books are scored on the same ten characteristics as films and matched with the same formula and your own match bands. Book scores are estimates, made from Open Library subjects and descriptions plus an AI reading.

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