And finally, mortality for an author who wrote of the essence of human existence

Yahoo! News - Saul Bellow, U.S. Author and Nobel Winner, Dead at 89

I have to admit, despite being a librarian and having a fairly decent knowledge of literature, I have never read or for that matter did not know of Mr Bellow's work. I'll admit ignorance. I don't know if that has a lot to do with schools' focus on 19th and early 20th century literature or just my tendency to read genre fiction (mystery and sci-fi/fantasy) rather than 'great American novels'. One friend thought it had more to do with critical success being at the hands of a relatively small number of readers, especially for Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, rather than more popular works. I am curious, though, and I'd like to check out his work, especially the themes drawn from his Jewish background.