What do you think?
Rate this book
L'iniziazione
Louie, diciassettenne introverso, sbrigando commissioni nella Chicago del 1933, si è imbattuto in una bella donna nuda, stesa sul lettino di uno studio medico deserto. Raccoglie il suo invito e l'accompagna a casa ...
72 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
13 people are currently reading
498 people want to read
About the author
Saul Bellow
252 books1,963 followersNovels of Saul Bellow, Canadian-American writer, include
Dangling Man
in 1944 and
Humboldt's Gift
in 1975 and often concern an alienated individual within an indifferent society; he won the Nobel Prize of 1976 for literature.
People widely regard one most important Saul Bellow of the 20th century. Known for his rich prose, intellectual depth, and incisive character studies, Bellow explored themes of identity and the complexities of modern life with a distinct voice that fused philosophical insight and streetwise humor. Herzog , The Adventures of Augie March , and Mister Sammler’s Planet , his major works, earned critical acclaim and a lasting legacy.
Born in Lachine, Quebec, to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Saul Bellow at a young age moved with his family to Chicago, a city that shaped much worldview and a frequent backdrop in his fiction. He studied anthropology at the University of Chicago and later Northwestern, and his intellectual interests deeply informed him. Bellow briefly pursued graduate studies in anthropology, quickly turned, and first published.
Breakthrough of Saul Bellow came with The Adventures of Augie March , a sprawling, exuberance that in 1953 marked the national book award and a new direction in fiction. With energetic language and episodic structure, it introduced readers to a new kind of unapologetically intellectual yet deeply grounded hero in the realities of urban life. Over the following decades, Bellow produced a series of acclaimed that further cemented his reputation. In Herzog , considered his masterpiece in 1964, a psychological portrait of inner turmoil of a troubled academic unfolds through a series of unsent letters, while a semi-autobiographical reflection on art and fame gained the Pulitzer Prize.
In 1976, people awarded human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture of Saul Bellow. He only thrice gained the national book award for fiction and also received the medal of arts and the lifetime achievement of the library of Congress.
Beyond fiction, Saul Bellow, a passionate essayist, taught. He held academic positions at institutions, such as the University of Minnesota, Princeton, and Boston University, and people knew his sharp intellect and lively classroom presence. Despite his stature, Bellow cared about ordinary people and infused his work with humor, moral reflection, and a deep appreciation of contradictions of life.
People can see influence of Saul Bellow in the work of countless followers. His uniquely and universally resonant voice ably combined the comic, the profound, the intellectual, and the visceral. He continued into his later years to publish his final Ravelstein in 2000.
People continue to read work of Saul Bellow and to celebrate its wisdom, vitality, and fearless examination of humanity in a chaotic world.
People widely regard one most important Saul Bellow of the 20th century. Known for his rich prose, intellectual depth, and incisive character studies, Bellow explored themes of identity and the complexities of modern life with a distinct voice that fused philosophical insight and streetwise humor. Herzog , The Adventures of Augie March , and Mister Sammler’s Planet , his major works, earned critical acclaim and a lasting legacy.
Born in Lachine, Quebec, to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Saul Bellow at a young age moved with his family to Chicago, a city that shaped much worldview and a frequent backdrop in his fiction. He studied anthropology at the University of Chicago and later Northwestern, and his intellectual interests deeply informed him. Bellow briefly pursued graduate studies in anthropology, quickly turned, and first published.
Breakthrough of Saul Bellow came with The Adventures of Augie March , a sprawling, exuberance that in 1953 marked the national book award and a new direction in fiction. With energetic language and episodic structure, it introduced readers to a new kind of unapologetically intellectual yet deeply grounded hero in the realities of urban life. Over the following decades, Bellow produced a series of acclaimed that further cemented his reputation. In Herzog , considered his masterpiece in 1964, a psychological portrait of inner turmoil of a troubled academic unfolds through a series of unsent letters, while a semi-autobiographical reflection on art and fame gained the Pulitzer Prize.
In 1976, people awarded human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture of Saul Bellow. He only thrice gained the national book award for fiction and also received the medal of arts and the lifetime achievement of the library of Congress.
Beyond fiction, Saul Bellow, a passionate essayist, taught. He held academic positions at institutions, such as the University of Minnesota, Princeton, and Boston University, and people knew his sharp intellect and lively classroom presence. Despite his stature, Bellow cared about ordinary people and infused his work with humor, moral reflection, and a deep appreciation of contradictions of life.
People can see influence of Saul Bellow in the work of countless followers. His uniquely and universally resonant voice ably combined the comic, the profound, the intellectual, and the visceral. He continued into his later years to publish his final Ravelstein in 2000.
People continue to read work of Saul Bellow and to celebrate its wisdom, vitality, and fearless examination of humanity in a chaotic world.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 16, 2023
Il segreto lavorio di certi giorni qualunque
Apri questo piccolo libro
e trovi un inizio così:
Un vortice di dubbi, timori , confusione , di sensazioni prorompenti, di accadimenti fortuiti
in un freddo pomeriggio invernale
(in una Chicago anni 30 ,con l'ironia e la profondità bellowiana )
☆☆☆☆
Apri questo piccolo libro
e trovi un inizio così:
Quando stanno succedendo troppe cose,più di quante tu ne possa sopportare,
puoi scegliere di far finta che non stia accadendo niente di speciale,
che la tua vita stia girando e girando come il piatto di un giradischi.
Poi un giorno ti rendi conto che quello che credevi un piatto di giradischi
liscio e uniforme, era in realtà un mulinello, un vortice...
Un vortice di dubbi, timori , confusione , di sensazioni prorompenti, di accadimenti fortuiti
in un freddo pomeriggio invernale
(in una Chicago anni 30 ,con l'ironia e la profondità bellowiana )
☆☆☆☆
June 19, 2023
"«Il segreto lavorio di certi giorni tutti uguali»: questo verso in prosa è tratto dal racconto autobiografico di Saul Bellow intitolato L’iniziazione. Sta a significare i periodi in cui la vita quotidiana sembra ordinaria, ma il nostro personale mondo infero, il nostro spazio piú intimo, sta confusamente curando una ferita (nel caso di Saul – quindicenne – l’imminente morte della madre), e ha una gran mole di segreto lavorio da svolgere… "
"ripulisci la tua prosa di qualunque cosa puzzi di gregge e di ovile. La tua prosa, ovviamente, dovrebbe venire da te, da te stesso, fatta su misura e non prodotta in massa. «Il segreto lavorio di certi giorni tutti uguali»… Meravigliosa evocazione di Saul del subconscio, il subconscio che si impegna, cercando di chiarire e articolare. Ed evoca anche il processo della scrittura, lo scrivere qualcosa di lungo, lo scrivere un romanzo."
"Per tutto il tempo in cui hai creduto di oziare si stava svolgendo un duro lavoro. Un duro, durissimo lavoro di scavo e di perforazione, di miniera, aprendo gallerie come talpe, alzando, spingendo, spostando la roccia, lavorando, lavorando, lavorando, lavorando, lavorando, ansimando, tirando, caricando. E di questo lavoro non si vede nulla dall’esterno. Si svolge internamente. […] Dentro di te tu fatichi, tu lotti e combatti, regoli conti, ricordi insulti, attacchi, rispondi, neghi, ciarli, denunci, trionfi, superi in astuzia, vinci, vendichi, piangi, insisti, assolvi, muori e risorgi. Tutto da solo! Dove sono gli altri? Nel tuo petto e nel tuo sangue, tutti quanti." [Da Augie March]
"– È lo stesso concetto, vero? – dissi a Rosamund. – Il segreto lavorio di certi giorni tutti uguali. – In questo caso sottoposto a trattamento virtuosistico, – mi rispose. – Ma il concetto è lo stesso."
Amis dice che il romanzo accelerato è la risposta al mondo accelerato. E i romanzieri che sono meri osservatori del mondo supersonico, ci vivono, ne percepiscono i ritmi, ne respirano l’aria. Si sono evoluti.
Lo stesso Bellow che ha prodotte prose forse ridondanti, sicuramente non sintetiche, approda a L'iniziazione. E basta una frase, che sicuramente non puzza di gregge, per esprimere un mondo interiore.
Il segreto lavorio di certi giorni tutti uguali.
P.S. Tutti i corsivi (e i pensieri indotti) vengono da La Storia da dentro - M.Amis
June 21, 2019
Racconto di un’iniziazione: ma non alla vita sessuale, alla vita.
L'incipit: "Quando stanno succedendo troppe cose, più di quante tu ne possa sopportare, puoi scegliere di far finta che non stia accadendo niente di particolare, che la tua vita stia girando e rigirando come il piatto di un giradischi. Poi un giorno ti rendi conto che quello che credevi un piatto di giradischi, liscio e uniforme, era in realtà un mulinello, un vortice."
Leggere Bellow è sempre bello(w).
L'incipit: "Quando stanno succedendo troppe cose, più di quante tu ne possa sopportare, puoi scegliere di far finta che non stia accadendo niente di particolare, che la tua vita stia girando e rigirando come il piatto di un giradischi. Poi un giorno ti rendi conto che quello che credevi un piatto di giradischi, liscio e uniforme, era in realtà un mulinello, un vortice."
Leggere Bellow è sempre bello(w).
February 9, 2017
This collection of short stories from Saul Bellow is an interesting read - but only if you have already read Herzog or Augie March or one of his other great works. There are three stories here, The Theft which is an interesting story of self-discovery, the title story Something to Remember Me By which is a bit depressing in the strained relationships it depicts. My favorite story was The Bellarosa Connection which - with Sammler's Planet - is the only work were Bellow directly addresses the Holocaust. The escape of Harry Fonstein from a concentration camp in Poland with the help of a gravedigger and the famous Broadway impresario Billy Rose (thus the title, The Bellarosa Connection). The horror of Fonstein's ordeal is incredibly well-written as is his ill-fated attempt to thank Billy Rose for his salvation whereas Mr. Rose has spent his career denying his involvement in secreting Jews out of Nazi Germany. It is a fascinating study in shame and the search for redemption - a common theme in all three stories.
January 13, 2023
Racconto lungo o romanzo breve, in ogni caso che bomba!
Louie, adulto, racconta al figlio di quando 17nne a Chicago nel pieno della depressione, con sua madre a casa che sta morendo, si imbattè in una grottesca avventura (di cui nulla dico, visto che la trama rischia di non fare comprendere davvero il bello di questo libro).
In 45 pagine che narrano di un pomeriggio, riesce a rendere atmosfera, rapporti familiari, turbe adolescenziali, ironia, e a catturare il lettore.
Premio Nobel non per nulla direi (e mea culpa.... Primo libro suo che leggo)
Louie, adulto, racconta al figlio di quando 17nne a Chicago nel pieno della depressione, con sua madre a casa che sta morendo, si imbattè in una grottesca avventura (di cui nulla dico, visto che la trama rischia di non fare comprendere davvero il bello di questo libro).
In 45 pagine che narrano di un pomeriggio, riesce a rendere atmosfera, rapporti familiari, turbe adolescenziali, ironia, e a catturare il lettore.
Premio Nobel non per nulla direi (e mea culpa.... Primo libro suo che leggo)
June 28, 2025
A fine, late Bellow story or short novella, which I had never read — free of some of the worst faults of the late Bellow (like Ravelstein), though not quite up to the best (like the Dean’s December). A poignant anecdote about sex and death in February 1933, recounted by an old man who says: “I myself know the power of nonpathos, in these low, devious days” (an allusion, perhaps, to Auden).
February 12, 2025
I read the title story a a little more than two years ago and I thought it was fantastic. Beautiful descriptions, beautiful scenery, great dialog, you're transported to gritty depression-era Chicago and the contrast between the main character's Jewish home-life, the outside world and his appetite for great things really struck a chord with me. Take this paragraph for example:
"I had no use for professions. Utterly none. There were accountants and engineers in the soup lines. In the world slump, professions were useless. You were free, therefore, to make something extraordinary of yourself. I might have said, if I hadn't been excited to the point of sickness, that I didn't ride around the cars to make a buck or to be useful to the family, but to take a reading of this boring, depressed, ugly, endless, rotting city. I couldn't have thought it then, but I now understand that my purpose was to interpret this place. Its power was tremendous. But so was mine, potentially. I refused absolutely to believe for a moment that people were doing what they thought they were doing. Beneath the apparent life of these streets was their real life, beneath each face the real face, beneath each voice and its words the true tone and the real message."
Pretty great, right? That's until you realize that he doesn't really have a unique vision of the world. More than that, there's very little profundity in these stories. The Bellarosa Connection is okay, slightly curious. But the more I read on the more I felt Nabokov's assessment ring true: "miserable mediocrity".
The characters pseudo-intellectual assessments of everything (especially Ithiel Regler's, who is in the MC's view a great American mind), becomes a parody of itself. Statements that are supposed to sound profound are just basic everyday thoughts. There's nothing here. The ending of "A Theft" is almost laughable, like the ending of a bad Twilight Zone episode. Bellow sounds too in love with his own ideas, he rambles on for too long, and he doesn't have much to say. He could've written for Seinfeld but he's not funny enough. He writes well. He's got an appetite. But ultimately it just falls short.
"I had no use for professions. Utterly none. There were accountants and engineers in the soup lines. In the world slump, professions were useless. You were free, therefore, to make something extraordinary of yourself. I might have said, if I hadn't been excited to the point of sickness, that I didn't ride around the cars to make a buck or to be useful to the family, but to take a reading of this boring, depressed, ugly, endless, rotting city. I couldn't have thought it then, but I now understand that my purpose was to interpret this place. Its power was tremendous. But so was mine, potentially. I refused absolutely to believe for a moment that people were doing what they thought they were doing. Beneath the apparent life of these streets was their real life, beneath each face the real face, beneath each voice and its words the true tone and the real message."
Pretty great, right? That's until you realize that he doesn't really have a unique vision of the world. More than that, there's very little profundity in these stories. The Bellarosa Connection is okay, slightly curious. But the more I read on the more I felt Nabokov's assessment ring true: "miserable mediocrity".
The characters pseudo-intellectual assessments of everything (especially Ithiel Regler's, who is in the MC's view a great American mind), becomes a parody of itself. Statements that are supposed to sound profound are just basic everyday thoughts. There's nothing here. The ending of "A Theft" is almost laughable, like the ending of a bad Twilight Zone episode. Bellow sounds too in love with his own ideas, he rambles on for too long, and he doesn't have much to say. He could've written for Seinfeld but he's not funny enough. He writes well. He's got an appetite. But ultimately it just falls short.
July 4, 2014
5 stars for The Theft, 3 stars for The Bellarosa Connection & Something To Remember Me By.
I am slightly irked by his needless references to Oriental characteristics (also seen in The Actual) and characters who are inexplicably powerful and wealthy, generally after having pursued the American dream. The first-person stories grate on me the most because of the boastful confidence in every interaction. The Theft is written third-person, and it's a lot easier to manage Clara's and Teddy's forces of personality from an outsider's perspective. The emotional depth and strength of human connection explodes out of the pages of the Theft, and Clara's personality really comes alive.
I am slightly irked by his needless references to Oriental characteristics (also seen in The Actual) and characters who are inexplicably powerful and wealthy, generally after having pursued the American dream. The first-person stories grate on me the most because of the boastful confidence in every interaction. The Theft is written third-person, and it's a lot easier to manage Clara's and Teddy's forces of personality from an outsider's perspective. The emotional depth and strength of human connection explodes out of the pages of the Theft, and Clara's personality really comes alive.
July 22, 2015
Introduction by Bellow as excellent. There were some beautiful passages in the stories. The title story reminded me of the Martin Scorsese movie 'After Dark'. But overall, I was a little bit disappointed. I wasn't interested in reading about the travails of rich New Yorkers and their love affairs. I think I might have liked it when I was younger. I want to give Saul Bellow another try though - I want to read one of his bigger books, probably 'The Adventures of Augie March'.
April 10, 2021
I liked Bellow's introductory remark explaining why he attempted to write short stories though he liked to write novels. His elaboration on writing short as the readers' also preferring shorter formats with lower attention span has become even more compelling with the advent of Internet and social media. However, the three stories included in this book still read more like novellas rather than true short stories. I am not surprised that one of the Goodreaders has remarked that she could not complete reading the book. But I liked all the three stories, and the patience has been rewarding. Bellow has used the space to develop the characters and the situations well. I am thankful that he has not pruned the stories to make these short stories in size and structure curbing his natural style.
February 4, 2019
Honestly, only the last story is very good, but it is VERY good. The first two are prolonged returns to the images and concerns that populate his more fulfilling longer work. But I'll say it again, the last story-- the title story-- it fucking slays.
April 5, 2018
Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to finish this book. I thought that the writing style was exhausting, and somehow... dusty? And by dusty I mean that it felt like I was reading the novel of an old, bitter man who purposely locks himself inside his room for days on end in order to write like an insomniac on the verge of madness (not that that's a bad thing), spends his afternoons walking around town with an umbrella in his hand that he uses in lieu of a walking stick just in case it started raining and sits in bars drinking watered down whisky and looking gloomy and whenever somebody would try to strike up a converation with him, Bellow just has to mention how he's a writer and writers shall not concern themselves with smalltalk.
But who knows, maybe I'll give this book another shot someday.
But who knows, maybe I'll give this book another shot someday.
March 10, 2025
Martin Amis once said of Bellow’s prose that ‘his sentences simply weigh more than anybody else's’. And that’s quite right.
December 2, 2025
3,5 ⭐️
January 3, 2022
IMPRESSIONI in POST IT:
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5.
Spiazzante, onesto, raffinato, misterioso, folgorante, amore per la letteratura. A tratti comico e veloce oppure profondo e riflessivo.
.
AUTORE: #SaulBellow, nato nel 1915, Canada. Primo libro che leggo di Bellow, ma di sicuro non l'ultimo. Ne ho altri due che mi guardano dallo scaffale : "Herzog" e "Il dono di Humboldt"; "Il re della pioggia" è nei "desiderata".
.
TITOLO: #liniziazione.
Tutti, compreso l'adolescente liceale protagonista (Bellow stesso?) ci aspetteremmo al sesso...invece è, più in generale, alla vita.
.
LUOGO: Chicago, febbraio 1933. Cupa, invernale "corazzata di ghiaccio grigio, il cielo basso, il tirare avanti, pesante...depressa, noiosa, brutta, interminabile, marcescente città" in un'epoca in cui chi comandava era la gente di Al Capone.
.
TRAMA: Quel tanto che basta per farsi un'idea. Si tratta di un episodio del passato, del ricordo della prima presa di coscienza "del segreto lavorio" dei giorni in cui il protagonista, ha compreso cos'è la vita e la morte. Un pretesto che Bellow usa per parlare ai lettori e al figlio della VITA con i suoi premi, punizioni, sogni, tentazioni, trappole, delusioni ecc.
.
INCIPIT: Quando stanno succedendo troppe cose, più di quante tu ne possa sopportare, puoi scegliere...
.
ESTRATTO PREFERITO: Sotto la cupola della biblioteca, a lettere di mosaico, c'era un messaggio di Milton (...): "UN BUON LIBRO E' IL PREZIOSO SANGUE VITALE DI UNO SPIRITO MAESTRO"
.
CONSIGLIATO: si! Scritto magistralmente, in poche pagine, contiene tutto: effetto a sorpresa, riflessioni sulla vita e sulla letteratura mai scontate, magistrale caratterizzazione dei pochi personaggi presenti (padre, cognato, "dello studentello e della sciacquetta" ecc.), soprattutto, di lui ragazzino, intento a gestire "una piccola industria di inganni con la sua eterna passione e mania per altri mondi". Solo 76 pagine, ma non leggetelo troppo velocemente oppure rileggetelo poi da capo, come ho fatto io. Ne è valsa la pena. Arrivederci al prossimo, mr. Bellow!
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5.
Spiazzante, onesto, raffinato, misterioso, folgorante, amore per la letteratura. A tratti comico e veloce oppure profondo e riflessivo.
.
AUTORE: #SaulBellow, nato nel 1915, Canada. Primo libro che leggo di Bellow, ma di sicuro non l'ultimo. Ne ho altri due che mi guardano dallo scaffale : "Herzog" e "Il dono di Humboldt"; "Il re della pioggia" è nei "desiderata".
.
TITOLO: #liniziazione.
Tutti, compreso l'adolescente liceale protagonista (Bellow stesso?) ci aspetteremmo al sesso...invece è, più in generale, alla vita.
.
LUOGO: Chicago, febbraio 1933. Cupa, invernale "corazzata di ghiaccio grigio, il cielo basso, il tirare avanti, pesante...depressa, noiosa, brutta, interminabile, marcescente città" in un'epoca in cui chi comandava era la gente di Al Capone.
.
TRAMA: Quel tanto che basta per farsi un'idea. Si tratta di un episodio del passato, del ricordo della prima presa di coscienza "del segreto lavorio" dei giorni in cui il protagonista, ha compreso cos'è la vita e la morte. Un pretesto che Bellow usa per parlare ai lettori e al figlio della VITA con i suoi premi, punizioni, sogni, tentazioni, trappole, delusioni ecc.
.
INCIPIT: Quando stanno succedendo troppe cose, più di quante tu ne possa sopportare, puoi scegliere...
.
ESTRATTO PREFERITO: Sotto la cupola della biblioteca, a lettere di mosaico, c'era un messaggio di Milton (...): "UN BUON LIBRO E' IL PREZIOSO SANGUE VITALE DI UNO SPIRITO MAESTRO"
.
CONSIGLIATO: si! Scritto magistralmente, in poche pagine, contiene tutto: effetto a sorpresa, riflessioni sulla vita e sulla letteratura mai scontate, magistrale caratterizzazione dei pochi personaggi presenti (padre, cognato, "dello studentello e della sciacquetta" ecc.), soprattutto, di lui ragazzino, intento a gestire "una piccola industria di inganni con la sua eterna passione e mania per altri mondi". Solo 76 pagine, ma non leggetelo troppo velocemente oppure rileggetelo poi da capo, come ho fatto io. Ne è valsa la pena. Arrivederci al prossimo, mr. Bellow!
October 19, 2019
This book consists of 3 stories. In my opinion they got progressively better. The edition that I read had a forward by the author which dealt with the subject of brevity in writing. That was ironic because the first story was long and repetitive. I would have enjoyed it at 1/2 the length. But the next two stories were intriguing, so I'm glad that I stuck with it. These stories, although the copyright dates were in the 1980s and 90s, are written about years past (1920s - 1930's and one indeterminate).
September 18, 2021
when you read Saul Bellow you'd get the feeling you're reading something real and unpretentious prose of life. it's like Hemingway but not that simple comparison will help to comprehend his writing. Saul Bellow mostly existential in manner & his catharsis leads us into a profound state of life. i really never read anything such simple and sincere about the deep aspect of life.
October 12, 2009
Three truly beautiful novellas. Cleverly written. Many it's a lusting for New York in the Autumn (because Bellow always feels like New York even when his work isn't set there), but these have turned me onto a writer I've never given much attention before.
January 5, 2014
Yeah, the prose was beautiful, the language was poetic and the characters were lively and multi-faceted. I wanted to love this, but none of the stories really blew my skirt up.
They were fine, really. Nothing spectacular though.
They were fine, really. Nothing spectacular though.
September 2, 2007
One of my favorites of one of my favorites -- this is a bit melancholic and it seemed to me to be nearly perfect as I recall. Maybe I'll go back to it just to be sure -- one day but not now.
July 1, 2008
Bellow creates amazing characters, capturing intimate thoughts and persona's that bring them intimately, almost uncomfortably to life.
July 14, 2012
The second story is wonderful.
October 10, 2012
Read the short story "Something To Remember Me By" for class and it is really good. Very interesting.
Want to read
March 21, 2015Incipit
Quando stanno succedendo troppe cose ...
L'iniziazione incipitmania.com
Quando stanno succedendo troppe cose ...
L'iniziazione incipitmania.com
November 9, 2013
Can't go wrong with King Bellow. Billy R. tale my favorite
February 6, 2017
nice lucid writing. the first story was better than the second which was better than the third.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews