Rain King Henderson

...In "Seize the Day" (1956), he explores the path to salvation for the so-called "Schlemil" (bumbling man), depicting the modern-day loser behavior of a son who is called human trash by his successful father. The same idea of ​​this exploration is repeated in his next work, "Rain King Henderson" (1959), but in this long novel, written in the bold style inherited from "Augie March," the journey of a huge 50-year-old man who rushes into Africa in search of fulfillment of his destiny is depicted, and there is a sense that the thoughts and actions of Americans as a whole are caricatured by superimposing them on the actions of the protagonist. In the highly acclaimed "Hertzog" (1964), the protagonist is a former university professor who also adds an autobiographical coloring. ...

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "Rain King Henderson" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…《その日をつかめ》(1956)では，成功者の父親から人間の屑と罵られる息子の現代の敗者ぶりを描きながら，いわゆる〈シュレミール(どじな奴)〉の救いの道が探求される。この探求の趣向は次の《雨の王ヘンダーソン》(1959)でも同断だが，おのれの運命の充足を求めてアフリカにとびこんで行く巨大な体軀の50男の遍歴の姿を，《オーギー･マーチ》から受け継いだ放胆な文体で描いたこの長編では，主人公の動静に重ね合わせてアメリカ人全体の思考と行動が戯画的にとらえられている気配がある。世評の高い《ハーツォグ》(1964)では，自伝的色彩をも加味した元大学教授が主人公。…

※「《雨の王ヘンダーソン》」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報