Rating: 
Summary: Dense Prose Telling A Relatively Simple Story
Review: Last year during all the millennium hoopla, the editorial board of the Modern Library released their list of the Top 100 English-language novels of the 20th century. Mainly because I had nothing else to do, I decided to familiarize myself with all the books on the list that I had not read or attempted to read. Henderson The Rain King checked in at #21.Now I certainly know Saul Bellow by his reputation, but I can't say that I am all that familiar with his other work. He's always been a bit too wordy for me to really get into his stories. Since this was the only one of his novels to crack the top 100, I thought maybe there was some additional merit to this one that I was not aware of and so I picked up a copy. I'm not suggesting by any means that it is a bad thing to be overly descriptive. In fact, one of the great things about this book is that we come to know Henderson as an extremely real person by the various acts he performs and by the first-person narration. He is a living, breathing person by the time the main thrust of the story begins, but unfortunately we've already expended so much of ourselves investing in this character that when the introduction is over, we're left with 75% of the book remaining and nowhere left to really go. Bellow tries to compensate for this by weaving an exotic tale about Africa and the people who inhabit some of the more unspoiled regions of it, but the story turns on what is basically a midlife crisis and I thought, so what? Maybe I'm too young to fully appreciate that aspect of the story, and Bellow does come up with an interesting ways for his character to deal with the onset of age, but I couldn't help thinking about how this would be much better served if it was clearer exactly what Henderson is after. Don't get me wrong, there are innumerable passages about his search for...something. But since he isn't sure what it is, neither are we. There's a general idea, but nothing specific. The story does wind up with some intriguing plot devices that hold the imagination, but really nothing so earth-moving that it causes us to take stock of ourselves. I almost got the sense that this was supposed to be a kind of snipe at the Hemingway tough guy image by having a main character who is, by all accounts and actions, a tough guy who shows an introspective side. The ending just sort of happens, in that the narrative comes to its conclusion without resolving a key part of the story. I won't give it away, but suffice it to say that the whole impetus for the plot's big leap forward doesn't get any time in terms of how Henderson responds to his pre-crisis world. On the plus side, there are some great lyrical passages and there's no doubt that Bellow has a command of the language that few have. If you can avoid being intimidated by his reputation, I think you have a decent chance of enjoying this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A comic mid-life initiation story
Review: This is an interesting piece of expatriate literature. The "Lost Generation"--represented by the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald--churned out a host of literature that dealt with an America that was recovering from two world wars, and that was just beginning to realize its significance as a world power. This book belongs to the next generation of Americans, one who may not be able to find all of the answers in America but who nevertheless has a sense of national identity. It is a tale of a man named Henderson, an eccentric American millionaire who realizes he is searching for something and has to go to Africa to find it. Henderson, a man who never seems to do anything right, finds himself on the African continent, and learns enough about life to give him the direction he needs.
This book is very entertaining. Bellow's prose is intriguing and his dialogue interesting. At times, this book is so absurd it is downright funny, and Henderson is the perfect sort of unlikely and hapless hero that most of us can relate to. All in all, this is a great book for anyone interested in twentieth-century literature, particularly expatriate literature.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Story For Our Time
Review: First, a warning- Bellow's HENDERSON THE RAIN KING is a time-consuming novel. It requires patience. Dedication and open mind. Like HERZOG, this is a novel about life, and its meaning. A giant book not for the lazy reader. Henderson is the evil, greedy American, typical of his "I want, I want" generation. On an impulse, this hard-drinking tycoon walks out of his marriage to "darkest Africa." There, he rises to the rank of rain-maker to a primitive tribe and becomes right hand man to a local chief, Dahfu. The strength of the novel comes from numerous wisdom embedded in its' story and dialogues (wisdom drawn from Kabbala, the Holy Bible, etc). An example is: "Do you know how to replace the whole thing? It cannot be done. Even if, on supreme moments, there is no old and there is no ne, but only an essence which can smile at our arrangement- smile even at being human." (p 276, Aust'l Penguin ed.) This is funny, brilliant book. Generous without being sentimental. Read it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Unfulfilling for both Henderson and Myself
Review: What was Bellows seeking in this novel? As his character Henderson seeks to find fulfillment on any level in his life, Bellows left me feeling the same about this read. Eugene Henderson is basiclly a wealthy looser. Born within a family of acheivers, he breaks the tradition. With a silver spoon in his mouth, he comes off as the lazy unconcerned with anything type. He fails through college, marriage, and life. With an internal voice that keeps telling him to seek, but he has no idea what he's seeking for. The only goal that's ever come to him was the desire to become a doctor, and when he's presented with the books, which should have sparked passion and inspiration, he finds himself overwhelmed and unable to comprehend as well as commit. He sets out in search of ... well, Bellows never truly reveals this to us. Henderson, after seeing an old childhood friend, decides to take off to Africa with he and his new bride. He grows tired with boredom after a few weeks with them, and hires one of the men from the team to take him deep into the unknown bush. Where he comes upon a small tribe that is dealing with drought problems. Their animals are dying, and Henderson wonders if this was his calling, to help these people. But with little thought, he concocts a plan that leaves these people worse off than when he arrived. As usual, his blunder causes him to bail out in the middle of the night leaving these people in despair. He travels until he comes to a second tribe, who at this time are preparing for a festival to create rain. Unbeknownst to Henderson, he's going to be set up to become the next rain king. Which indeed he does become, and discovers that it means only that he will fall to his own death eventually due to the title. The story ends with Hendersons escape, along with a lion cub, making his way back home. Bellows writes with good detail, thought provoking conversation and happenings, and a bit of humor, but never answers the question that is posed throughout this book. I was disappointed in my first read of Bellows work. It seems he lost track of the quest somewhere along the way. A major flaw in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Henderson the Ugly American
Review: Henderson is a worthless mild age malcontent searching for fullfillment. A hard drinker and womanizer, Henderson has few if any admirable characterstics. The typical American who consumes in mass, Henderson determines that the only way to be truely happy is to subject himself on the third world and off to Africa he goes. In Africa he determines that he must go into the bush to live among the natives. His first attempt to help the unsuspecting Africans is a total disaster with Henderson and his guide barely escaping with their heads. His second encounter is with a much more hostile tribe but somehow Henderson befriends the Prince. The tribe beleives that Henderson is responsible for bringing much needed rain and he is beleived by teh tribe to be a God. When Henderson suspects that his ultimate duty is to be sacrificed, he determines that it is time to leave. Somehow in his dealings with the King Henderson rediscovers some part of his self respect. Henderson the Rain King is funny and entertaining and worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: A comic mid-life initiation story
Review: This is an interesting piece of expatriate literature. The "Lost Generation"--represented by the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald--churned out a host of literature that dealt with an America that was recovering from two world wars, and that was just beginning to realize its significance as a world power. This book belongs to the next generation of Americans, one who may not be able to find all of the answers in America but who nevertheless has a sense of national identity. It is a tale of a man named Henderson, an eccentric American millionaire who realizes he is searching for something and has to go to Africa to find it. Henderson, a man who never seems to do anything right, finds himself on the African continent, and learns enough about life to give him the direction he needs.
This book is very entertaining. Bellow's prose is intriguing and his dialogue interesting. At times, this book is so absurd it is downright funny, and Henderson is the perfect sort of unlikely and hapless hero that most of us can relate to. All in all, this is a great book for anyone interested in twentieth-century literature, particularly expatriate literature.
Rating:
Summary: Don't get your hopes up...
Review: This is the first book I read by Saul Bellow and it intrigued me enough to read two more books by this author. However, despite some interesting dialogue and a few paragraphs that are poetic and poignant this book is lacking. I find two major problems in all of Bellow's work. 1. Pacing. Bellows has a poor sense of pacing. There are sections that rapidly progress the plot interspersed with long winded boring sections that drag on for pages and pages with nothing happening. At times the plot can be quite entertaining, such as when Henderson finally gets to Africa and interacts with the villagers. I wanted Bellow to go into more detail between the villagers and Henderson rather than spend pages reading about Henderson's inner angst. 2. A lack of focus makes the book too long and seriously detracts from the moments of brilliance scattered throughout. In a word, Bellows likes to preach through his main character, and the voice you hear is very distinctly Bellows, not Hendersons. I didn't realize this until I read Humboldts Gift and I waded through pages of Charlie Citrines thoughts and ideas, which were very similiar to the thoughts and ideas of Bellow as Chick in Ravelstein. These thoughts and conversations, (In all three books) are amazingly convoluted, and sometimes I wonder if Bellow writes with stacks of textbooks near him so he can reference the theories of John Stuart Mills, Pope, Nietzsche, Davarr, Eriksen, Freud, Kierkegaard etc...and this is just a small sample. You can be rest assured that Bellow talks about every major and minor philosopher, psychologist, painter, writer, and poet at some point in time in all of his works, and most if it is pure psychobabble that has nothing to do with the plot. In short, if I wanted to read a textbook I would buy one. This is unfortunate because in Henderson the Rain King there was a good story and idea but Bellow lost the thread. Also, out of the three books I read by Bellow this one is the best. Needless to say I won't read another word by this author. Obviously he has connections to the people who hand out Pulitzer Prizes and Nobel Prizes, not to mention book reviewers. In closing, if you want a taste of Bellow read this book, if you enjoy it maybe you should pursue him more but be warned it doesn't get better.
Rating:
Summary: A Mid-Life Crisis Comedy
Review: Saul Bellow seems to me to be one of those writers who is only fully appreciated by readers who have reached a certain age and thus have a certain amount of life experience under their belts. Before "Henderson the Rain King," the only other Bellow I'd read was "Seize the Day," and I read that one in high school. The two books are similar in that they both have middle-aged male protagonists who are at some point of crisis in their lives. "Seize the Day" was completely lost on me, but I wonder if I read it now whether I might find more meaning in it. I've still got a ways to go before I become middle-aged myself, but nevertheless, there's a lot I related to in the character of Eugene Henderson. Affluent, arrogant and pig-headed, Henderson seems like the kind of man who should want for nothing, since he's rich enough to buy what he doesn't have and aggressive enough to bully his way into getting anything he can't buy. But he still finds himself haunted by an internal voice that chants "I want, I want," and because he doesn't know himself what it is that he wants, he takes an impulsive trip to Africa to see if he can find it in the desert wilds. "Henderson" the novel is actually very funny, and Henderson the character is himself quite charming. Bellow is careful to only fill you in on Henderson's belligerent (and sometimes abusive) behavior as something that has happened in the past. The Henderson we come to know over the course of the novel is one who is open and respectful to new cultures and is eager to learn that which can only be taught by others. He strikes up a close friendship with Dahfu, King of the Wairiri, an African tribe, and it's their relationship--and primarily what Henderson learns about himself from Dahfu--that comprises the majority of the novel's plot. "Henderson the Rain King" should appeal to anyone with politically left leanings and especially those who are frustrated by the materialist obsessions that plagues our culture. As others have said before this, the plot is actually quite simple, and one drawback to the book is that its story does not warrant its length. I didn't find Bellow's prose dense as some others have, but you do have to exhibit some patience with him as a writer, as he's prone to tangents and ruminative wanderings. All in all, however, this was a very enjoyable book and led me to believe that I might enjoy Saul Bellow after all.
Rating: 
Summary: I want..I want..I want an explanation.
Review: While this book is obviously well written, to me its a long ride to nowhere. Not much actually happens in the book, and the senseless ramblings between the King and Henderson are all rehashes of the same old 'meaning of life' sayings. The book was a bit of a chore to get through, with little payoff at the end.
Rating:
Summary: Exploring the depths of the human spirit
Review: This book is both profoundly meaningful and intensely funny - a rare combination in literature. The character of Henderson is big, loud, jovial, and full of passion. He performs a constant high-wire act, tiptoeing between extremely loveable and just plain annoying, and always manages to fall in the direction of the former. He is educated and experienced in life, but at the same time ignorant and naïve in many ways as well. He is a lover of adventure and challenge and yet has managed to coast through most of his life until he comes face to face with his African adventure. It is the dueling forces at work inside him that make him such a fascinating character. Saul Bellow creates a highly entertaining, though also highly stereotypical, African world as the setting for Henderson's life awakening. At times I felt guilty for laughing at the way he characterizes the African tribes, with their silly superstitions and bizarre traditions. In a way it seemed a bit racist, but in the end I concluded that Bellow was simply exaggerating the Western stereotypes of black Africa, so really he was poking fun at us, not at them. I found the dialog between Henderson and King Dahfu superbly written. The educated, intellectual voice of Dahfu gradually became more and more natural, but was a constant reminder of the preconceived notions that most white people have about other races. So what was this book about? I think it was about the human urge to explore both the far edges of the earth and the far edges of the human spirit. Henderson seeks adventure, but he also seeks to find something within himself, something that he knows is there but that he can't find at home. He challenges himself, and through this challenge he grows as a person. And it is because of this growth that he is able to return to where he began, and truly appreciate that place. I think there is also a strong message about the commonalities that exist between all humans, regardless of where they come from. Henderson travels thousands of miles to places where white men have never gone before, and yet he finds there a king to whom he can relate quite easily. Though this is a highly fictionalized account, there is a good bit of truth to the underlying message.
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