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Goldstein’s Novels of Ideas: Saul Bellow’s Herzog
This piece completes a series of reviews highlighting philosopher-novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s list of the best “novels of ideas”. Saul Bellow’s Herzog (1964) was ranked first on her list. Herzog is an excellent contender for the top position on a list of novels of ideas. It was instantly heralded as a literary “masterpiece” when it…
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On Novels of Ideas: Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction
Michael Da Silva takes a pause from his account of Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s list of the best novel of ideas to examine her most recent novel.
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On Goldstein’s Novels of Ideas: George Eliot’s Middlemarch
This piece continues a series of reviews highlighting highlighting philosopher-novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s list of the best “novels of ideas”. George Eliot’s Middlemarch was the second entry on her list. Reviewed in this essay: Middlemarch, George Eliot. Penguin Classics, 2002 (Originally published: 1871-1872 (with the first single volume set appearing in 1874 and further revisions…
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On Goldstein’s Novels of Ideas: Thomas Mann’s The Holy Sinner
This piece continues a series of reviews highlighting philosopher-novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s list of the best “novels of ideas”. Thomas Mann’s The Holy Sinner was the third entry on her list. Reviewed in this essay: The Holy Sinner, Thomas Mann. Translated by H.T. Lowe-Porter. Knopf, 1951. When The Holy Sinner was published in English in…
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On Goldstein’s Novels of Ideas: Iris Murdoch’s The Black Prince
This piece continues a series of reviews highlighting philosopher-novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s list of the best “novels of ideas”. Iris Murdoch’s The Black Prince was the fourth entry on her list. Reviewed in this essay: The Black Prince, Iris Murdoch. Penguin Classics, 2003 (Originally published: 1973) The Black Prince is the story of Bradley Pearson,…
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On Goldstein’s Novels of Ideas: Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams
In March 2010, shortly after the release of 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, philosopher and novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein published her list of the five best “novels of ideas” in the Wall Street Journal. Goldstein’s list gave Michael Da Silva a starting point for a series of reviews. The fifth novel on her…