Seize the Day

Tommy Wilhelm, the protagonist of SEIZE THE DAY, has many problems. He is a mid-career salesman who is out of a job and desperate for money. The demands of his estranged and icy wife, in combination with his own guilt, are close to crushing him. And, the people he can turn to in his time of need have their own agendas. These are Dr. Adler, his aloof and elderly father who wants no part of his son's confusion; and Dr. Tamkin, a money-short beguiler whose crazy presence and conversation occasionally pops with insight. In most of SEIZE THE DAY, Bellow illuminates Tommy's difficult situation with playful philosophical humor ("Maybe the making of mistakes expressed the very purpose of his life and the essence of his being.") and great characters. Here, for example, is Tommy considering Dr. Tamkin, who presents himself as a psychologist, deep-thinker, and commodities expert: "So many questions impossible to answer could not be asked about an honest man. Nor perhaps about a sane man. Was ... Read more

While this book is technically a "novella", it packs a lot of punch for its 114 pages. If you're looking for a light, fun read, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. The plot is almost incidental to the internal dialogue. After all, nothing much really happens. We're introduced to "Tommy Wilhelm" as he buys his morning newspaper. Then he goes to breakfast with his father. Then he meets an aquaintance and and they go to the stock market. Then he helps an old man find a cigar store. Exciting stuff, right? Well, yes it is actually--because of what's going on underneath. Our man, Wilhelm, is facing financail ruin and a crushing, emotional crisis, and nobody can really help. Moreover, he can't even pinpoint what the crisis is about. Somehow, things just didn't turn out right. So he's adrift, without an anchor. His father holds him in contempt, and won't help financially or paternally. His wife, likewise, is equally unsympathetic. She's also unrelenting in her demands, and patently unable ... Read more

I read this book several months, and I revisit it in my thoughts weekly. The character's of this book are not likable. Consequently, that may be why I found the book so compelling, and thought provoking. It's a man of failure, and I believe everyone may find one like trait in the protagonist that shakes them to their core.

Great Movie.Has to be one of the worst Transfers to DVD I have ever seen.Both Audio and Video are grusome.I have always thought this is Williams best work to date.If you are not familar with the work of Bellows and are use, or exspecting a funny goofy Willams you will be dissapointed.This is the story to a mans life that is crumbling around him and on top of him and I believe Williams does a brilliant job in the role.No funny lines or yuk yuks. Williams charecter is bleeding out emotionaly and he plays the part of a man grasping at straws and going under for the third time to perfection.