Herzog (novel)
A novel of letters from a midlife-crisis professor.
Herzog is a 1964 novel by Saul Bellow that follows five days in the life of Moses E. Herzog, a 47-year-old cultural history professor experiencing a midlife crisis after his second wife, Madeleine, left him for his close friend Valentine Gersbach. The story is told entirely from Herzog’s point of view, alternating between first and third person, and is composed in part of letters he mentally writes but never sends. These letters, addressed to friends, family, and famous figures both living and dead, express his disappointment in others or apologies for his own failings. The novel opens with Herzog at his house in Ludeyville, a fictional town in the Berkshires, before he travels to Martha’s Vineyard, then New York, and finally Chicago. In Chicago, he retrieves his deceased father’s antique pistol with two bullets, planning to kill Madeleine and Valentine, but abandons the scheme after seeing Valentine gently bathing his daughter June. After a car crash and arrest for carrying a loaded weapon, his brother Will helps him. Herzog ultimately returns to Ludeyville, where he decides against entering an institution and begins fixing up his house, a metaphor for his life’s need for repair. The novel won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction and the Prix International, and in 2005 Time magazine named it one of the 100 best English-language novels since its founding. The story includes flashbacks to Herzog’s first marriage, his father’s life, and a childhood sexual molestation. Bellow noted that Herzog’s intellectual “privilege” becomes a form of bondage, and the character’s healing is mirrored by the decreasing number of letters as he turns toward the real world. The novel contains autobiographical elements, as Bellow also grew up in Canada, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, lived in Chicago, and had been divorced twice at the time of writing.
- Author
- Saul Bellow
- Genre
- Novel
- Awards
- U.S. National Book Award for Fiction, Prix International
- Protagonist
- Moses E. Herzog
- Setting
- Ludeyville (fictional town in Berkshires), New York, Chicago, Martha's Vineyard
Lore & Background
The novel opens with Herzog in his house in Ludeyville, Massachusetts. He flees to Martha's Vineyard, then to New York, where he spends a night with Ramona. He goes to court to discuss custody of his daughter June, witnesses a hearing about a woman beating her child to death, and heads to Chicago after receiving a letter about Valentine locking June in a car. He retrieves his father's antique pistol with two bullets, planning to kill Madeleine and Valentine, but abandons the plan after seeing Valentine bathing June safely. He crashes his car, is charged with possession of a loaded weapon, and his brother Will picks him up. Herzog ultimately returns to Ludeyville, where he decides against institutionalization and begins making plans to fix up the house, closing by saying he needs to write no further letters.
Reader's Guide
Herzog is significant for its exploration of a protagonist gripped by ideas, reflecting Bellow's observation that 'people don't realize how much they are in the grip of ideas.' The novel's style, told entirely from Herzog's point of view alternating between first- and third-person, immerses the reader in his consciousness. The letters, which become fewer as the novel progresses, mirror the healing of Herzog's mind as he turns from inner struggles toward the real world. The novel contains autobiographical elements: Bellow, like Herzog, grew up in Canada, the son of bootleggers from St. Petersburg, was Jewish, lived in Chicago, and was twice divorced at the time. Valentine Gersbach is based on Jack Ludwig, who had an affair with Bellow's second wife, and Ramona on Rosette C. Lamont. Both reviewed the novel without mentioning these parallels. Bellow dismissed the relevance, calling it 'a curiosity about reality, which is impure.'
Did You Know?
- The novel won both the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction and the Prix International.
- The protagonist Moses E. Herzog writes letters to historical recipients who are dead or whom he never knew.
- The character Valentine Gersbach is based on Jack Ludwig, a friend who had an affair with Bellow's second wife.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the protagonist of Herzog and what drives his story?
Moses E. Herzog is a midlife-crisis-ridden academic who, after his wife's infidelity and his mother's death, drifts between Ludeyville in the Berkshires, New York, Chicago, and Martha's Vineyard while composing letters he never actually mails.
What awards did Herzog win?
Saul Bellow's novel took home the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction and the Prix International.
Where is Herzog set?
The story moves across several locations, including the fictional Berkshires town of Ludeyville, New York City, Chicago, and Martha's Vineyard.
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