Rereading Saul Bellow's Herzog. Surely this must be one of the better American novels ever. One of the most selfish, indulgent, purple-prosy, and yet perfect novels. Take away a little bit or add a little too much and it isn't good at all. But Bellow gets it just right. “It all goes back to those German existentialists who tell you how good dread is for you. How it saves you from distraction and gives you your freedom and makes you authentic. God is no more, but death is. That's their story and we live in a hedonistic world in which happiness is set up on a mechanical model. All you have to do is open your fly and grasp happiness. And so these other theorists introduce the tension of guilt and dread as a corrective. But human life is far subtler than its models. Even those genius German models. Do we need to study theories of fear and anguish?”
A theory: post-war American civilization peaked twice. 1996 and 1966. Both eras were crowned with a Woodstock. Both times things got worse after. Thirty years apart—we're due for our new 1996. 2026. Our new 1966. 2026. Our new Woodstock. 2029. But will it come and should we want to continue the cycle?