The Adventures of Auggie March

...Both his first novel and his second work, The Victim (1947), realistically depict the urban life of ordinary people in modern times, while the former explores the essence of human freedom, and the latter explores the subtleties of human relationships in which the victim can also be the perpetrator, making them intellectual novels with a philosophical tone that is rare in American novels. The Adventures of Auggie March (1953) is a complete departure from the norm, with the protagonist telling the story of his turbulent life in a talkative manner, and is a picaresque novel that vividly depicts modern society, centering on the journey of self-discovery of a boy born into a poor family in Chicago. Seize the Day (1956) depicts the modern-day loser behavior of a son who is called human scum by his successful father, and explores the way to salvation for the so-called "schlemiel (bumbling idiot)." ...

*Some of the terminology referenced in "The Adventures of Auggie March" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…前述の処女長編も第2作《犠牲者》(1947)も，現代の庶民の都市生活を写実的に描きながら，前者では人間の〈自由〉の本質を，後者では被害者がそのまま加害者でもありうる人間関係の機微を鋭く追求して，アメリカ小説には珍しく思想性を表面に出した知的な肌合いの小説である。《オーギー･マーチの冒険》(1953)はまた一転して，主人公が饒舌体の語り口で波乱にみちた自分の半生を語るという結構をとり，シカゴの貧家に生まれた少年の自己探求の旅を軸に現代社会を活写したピカレスク風の長編。《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。…

※「《オーギー・マーチの冒険》」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