''Seize the Day'', first published in 1956, is

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...

's fourth

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

. It was adapted into the film of the same name.

Synopsis

The story centers on a day in the life of Wilhelm Adler (a.k.a. Tommy Wilhelm), a failed actor in his forties. He is poor, unemployed and separated from his wife (who refuses to agree to a divorce). He is also estranged from his children and his father, a highly regarded former doctor who lives in the same

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

building. Wilhelm is immature and lacks insight, which has brought him to failure. In ''Seize the Day'' Wilhelm experiences a day of reckoning as he is forced to examine his life and to accept the "burden of self."

References

1956 American novels Novels by Saul Bellow American novellas Viking Press books Unemployment in fiction American novels adapted into films {{1950s-novel-stub