Him with His Foot in His Mouth and Other Stories

Him with His Foot in His Mouth and Other Stories is a 1984 collection of five short stories by the acclaimed American novelist Saul Bellow. Published by Harper & Row, the volume showcases Bellow's signature exploration of intellectual life, memory, and the complexities of human relationships in the modern world. The stories, written over a span of several years, are united by their focus on aging protagonists reflecting on pivotal moments of their lives, often with a blend of tragicomedy and profound philosophical insight.

Overview

The collection features five substantial narratives that delve into the inner lives of their central characters, typically erudite men confronting their pasts and their mortality. Written during the latter part of Bellow's career, following major works like Humboldt's Gift and The Dean's December, these stories continue his examination of the Jewish-American experience, intellectual vanity, and the search for meaning. The settings range from Chicago to various academic and cultural milieus, reflecting Bellow's own background and preoccupations. The title story, which opens the volume, sets the tone with its epistolary form and theme of unintended consequence.

Plot summaries

The title story, "Him with His Foot in His Mouth," is presented as a long, rambling letter from an aging musicologist, Herschel Shawmut, to a librarian he insulted decades earlier, attempting to explain his life and the thoughtless remark. "What Kind of Day Did You Have?" follows the fraught, single-day affair between Victor Wulpy, a famed art critic, and his lover Katrina Goliger as they travel through a snowstorm from Buffalo to Chicago, encountering various personal and professional crises. "Zetland: By a Character Witness" is a fragmented, biographical portrait of a gifted but troubled friend from the narrator's youth in Depression-era Chicago, exploring early intellectual fervor. In "A Silver Dish," Woody Selbst, a successful Chicago businessman, recalls the tumultuous relationship with his rogue of a father, focusing on a single incident of theft that defined their bond. "Cousins" features Ijah Brodsky, a lawyer, reflecting on his complex family ties and his entanglement with a cousin, Tanky Metzger, who is embroiled in legal troubles.

Themes and analysis

Central themes in the collection include the burdens of memory, the reconciliation with one's past failures, and the often-comic clash between high-minded intellect and base human instinct. Bellow repeatedly examines the concept of the "reality instructor"—a character who forces the protagonist to confront unvarnished truth, often embodied by charismatic, morally ambiguous figures like the fathers in "A Silver Dish" or the critic Wulpy. The stories are deeply concerned with Jewish identity and heritage, particularly as a source of moral and historical consciousness. Stylistically, the narratives are marked by Bellow's dense, allusive prose, blending street-smart dialogue with references to philosophy, history, and art, creating a rich tapestry of contemporary thought.

Publication history

Him with His Foot in His Mouth and Other Stories was first published in 1984 in the United States by Harper & Row as a hardcover edition. Several of the stories had previously appeared in literary magazines such as The Atlantic and Playboy prior to their collection. The book was later republished in paperback by Penguin Books and has been included in subsequent omnibus collections of Bellow's short fiction. Its publication followed Bellow's receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976 and contributed to the sustained critical examination of his later period.

Critical reception

Upon its release, the collection was generally praised by critics for its intellectual vigor and masterful prose, affirming Bellow's status as a major figure in American literature. Reviewers in publications like The New York Times and The New Yorker highlighted the depth of characterisation and the poignant treatment of aging and regret. Some criticism focused on a perceived similarity in narrative voice across the stories and a certain discursive quality. The volume is often considered a significant, if not revolutionary, addition to Bellow's corpus, with stories like "A Silver Dish" and the title narrative frequently anthologized and cited as examples of his short story mastery.

Category:Short story collections by Saul Bellow Category:1984 short story collections Category:American short story collections