Small Planets: Saul Bellow as Short Fiction Writer

Saul Bellow's short stories have been read both individually and as companion pieces to his masterworks. Though his universe has come to be known by its larger planets—The Adventures of Augie March, Henderson the Rain King, Herzog, Humboldt's Gift, Mr. Sammler's Planet—there are a surprisingly sizable number of smaller Bellovian planets that adorn our literary universe. Their appearance, though not always fully recognized, is significant. Bellow's stories also reflect that his recurring themes have, like a fine vintage, aged with time to provide us now with a significant body of short fiction, characterized by both its elegant brevity and its measured intensity. Gloria Cronin and Gerhard Bach have collected a volume of essays that examine Bellow's sharp wit, precise description, unforgettable portraits, and finely crafted dialogue that remind us of the fiction of sensibility and character portraiture of Hawthorne and James. Like so many of the great modernists who preceded him, Bellow, too, has become a master of the short story and the novella. His is a legacy of elegance, intensity, and clarity.