Seize the Day

($1.25 in Canadian dollars, but only .95 cents for American currency!)

Initial Impressions

Above is the copy of Seize the Day that I checked out from Stetson's very own library. To say it's in as great of a shape as the image would be far cry from the truth. I think it's equal parts heartwarming and impressive that Stetson's copy is so worn. It's tattered, the spine is breaking, there are more notes and underlines than ought to be, but Stetson did have a copy and it's one that's been checked out many times. This only makes me more intrigued to start reading Seize the Day, seeing how popular it is and how much affection it's seen. It smells like an old library book which is also quaint and a bit musky and someone has plastered a Snoopy sticker to the back page-- which should be interesting to see if that has any connections to the book, but it's looking unlikely. So, without any further ramblings from me examining a book more than I should, let's dive into premise behind Saul Bellow's Seize the Day!

History and Plot

Seize the Day was written in 1956 in the United States and was Bellow's fourth published novel. It is considered (as David sold it in class) one of the great works of the 20th century and is quite well known. From the synopsis that I found (I purposely avoided full summaries since I don't want to spoil the reading experience) Seize the Day focuses on a failed actor named Wilhelm Adler (who also goes by and is first introduced as Tommy Wilhelm) and is currently living a mediocre life filled with much failure. He doesn't speak to his children or family, he is separated from his wife, and unemployed. It seems that we will get to experience a point in Wilhelm's life where he is catapulted into facing what his world is and accepting what he has (or seemingly has not) done. 

Already we can see connections between Wilhelm and Blam-- both have done little with their life and are stuck in this grey area of living but not living. And we can see it between Wilhelm and Brill who are both mediocre, though it will be interesting to see if Wilhelm recognizes his own mediocre unlike Brill who couldn't see that without someone else spelling it out for him. 

Will Wilhelm seize the day?

Let's find out!