Bellow in his fourth novel continues the themes of the alienated man, isolated from human relationships, beset by bad luck, dismissed by society, desperate for success, and slowly sinking into failure, despair, and perhaps even suicide. Tommy Wilhelm (a stage name from his failed career in Los Angeles as an actor), nee Wilhelm (Wellie) Adler, lives in a hotel on Broadway where his elderly physician father and an assortment of others live, including Dr. Tamkin. Running out of cash after he loses (?leaves) his job as a salesman after the son-in-law is promoted over him, he is beset by his wife for support payments while his father refuses to help and Tamkin loses all his money on land futures. Inexorable failure, despair, and sadness come to a head at a funeral where Adler/Wilhelm is forced to face the inevitable end of all of us—death, the great equalizer. Does he then give up and end it all, or does he dig deep and get his act together? Given Bellow’s world view, I doubt the latter!