My first Saul Bellow novel and, well, it was hard going. There is no denying that he has wonderful command of language and some of his metaphors are beautiful. Some sections need to be read again because they are so well written...but.
Its just a bit all over the place, with no real direction. I felt as a reader that the journey I was taking was somewhat aimless and because Ravelstein is such an unsympathetic character I found I didn't really care where that was. The relationship between the narrator and Ravelstein is labored and feels one sided and uncharacteristic. I could never picture those two people together legitimately and that became a problem for me.
In the end I felt that if this man were to be remembered with affection then this wouldn't be the right epitaph. I am going to read more Bellow, as he is regarded as one of the giants of modern literature, but I found this novel to be a drag.