Henderson The Rain King
Upon reaching Africa, Henderson splits with his original group and hires a native guide, Romilayu. Romilayu leads Henderson to the village of the Arnewi, where Henderson befriends the leaders of the village. He learns that the cistern from which the Arnewi get their drinking water is plagued by frogs, thus rendering the water "unclean" according to local taboos. Henderson attempts to save the Arnewi by ridding them of the frogs, but his enthusiastic scheme ends in disaster, destroying the frogs and the village's cistern.
Henderson the Rain King
The elders send Dahfu to find a lion, which is supposedly the reincarnation of the late king, Dahfu's father. The lion hunt fails, and the lion mortally wounds the king. Henderson learns shortly before Dahfu's death that the Rain King is the next person in the line of succession for the throne. Having no interest in being king and desiring only to return home, Henderson flees the Wariri village.
Henderson is saddened by the death of King Dahfu. Since he does not trust Bunam and his followers, Henderson decides to leave the Wariri. He departs with Romilayu and a lion cub, which in the tradition of the Wariri tribe has the spirit of Dahfu. During the journey back home, Henderson provides care for an orphan boy he finds traveling unaccompanied. He comes to the realization that true relationships must stem from love. Returning to his long held dream, he makes the decision to begin training to become a doctor.
Bellow beautifully concludes with Henderson, now renewed, caring not only for the lion cub but also for an orphaned fellow traveler on his way back to America and walking the boy around the ice as the plane refuels in Canada:
For two years after opening Faulkner House Books, we periodically published a newsletter. In one I wrote a retrospective review of Henderson and sent a copy of it to Saul Bellow with a letter thanking him for all the pleasure his writing had given me for years. Now, with the bookstore, I looked forward to sharing my pleasure with my customers. A few months later, I received his reply. Both follow.
"In every community there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don't mean the criminals. For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably the most dangerous people seek the power. While in the parlors of indignation the right-thinking citizen brings his heart to a boil."
Henderson believes the tribe is trying to brainwash him. He feels a strange sensation in his chest, similar to longing, and believes he is coming down with a fever. He walks through town and observes people preparing for the festival, drinking and arguing, painting and ornamenting each other, and dressing their idols. A procession with drums and umbrellas arrives at Henderson's tent, and Horko, the king's uncle, greets Henderson warmly. Henderson is very comforted by this warm welcome. As they march towards the palace, Henderson notices that the people are much more animated than the day before. Horko explains that the day before was a sad day of fasting. Henderson also sees in the distance several bodies hanging upside down from scaffolding, and Horko evades his questions about whether it was an execution. Henderson wishes Lily were there, because he wants to see...
New York: The Viking Press (1959), 1959. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo. [9], 3-341, [1] pp. Orange cloth covered boards quarter bound in durable tan cloth with titling in black, silver, and orange. First issue with yellow topstain. Jacket is either married or second issue since although it has the correct price of $4.50 printed on the front flap it has quotes about the novel from Granville Hicks and Paul Pickrel on the rear panel (and we have seen correctly priced jackets that only show three blurbs about Bellow as a novelist). A very attractive copy of Bellow's fifth book. Near Fine / Very Good+. Item #00002513 A Near Fine book in a Very Good+ jacket with a hint or two of edge wear and a trace of barely perceptible sunning to the spine panel, along with some foxing to the reverse.
Saul Bellow evokes all the rich colors and exotic customs of a highly imaginary Africa in this acclaimed comic novel about a middle-aged American millionaire who, seeking a new, more rewarding life, descends upon an African tribe. Henderson's awesome feats of strength and his unbridled passion for life win him the admiration of the tribe - but it is his gift for making rain that turns him from mere hero into messiah. A hilarious, often ribald story, Henderson the Rain King is also a profound look at the forces that drive a man through life.
Tropes Animal Motifs: Henderson compares himself to a pig, then a domestic cat, and then a lion. The Wariri people state that everyone has a personality comparable to an animal's.
Author Avatar: Saul Bellow claims that Henderson is more similar to him than any other character he's written.
Big Beautiful Woman: The Arnewi people consider big women to be more attractive.
Blatant Lies: Henderson's daughter Ricey after being accused of stealing a baby claims that it's her baby, though Henderson can tell that she only had breasts since last year. It also doesn't help that the baby is completely black while Ricey is a white woman.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Henderson often refers to the audience as "you" and openly treats this book as a public diary for anyone and everyone to read.
Bulungi: While no country is named in the novel, the natives Henderson meets largely speak in pidgin and live in poverty. The tribe names are made up and do not correspond to any specific African tribe.
Chick Magnet: Henderson becomes this the instant he moves the giant wooden statue of Mummah which the Wariri village's former weightlifting champion, Turombo, couldn't do. But then Henderson deduces Turombo feigned inability to lift Mummah just to avoid being forced to become the king and transform into a lion.
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: The book often implies that Henderson could have avoided his Rich Boredom and the voice screaming "I want I want I want" in his heart by having become a doctor in spite of already inheriting wealth from his father. Henderson has been mostly dormant and inactive most of his life because he didn't have to work to get rich.
Covers Always Lie: Subverted, although this has nothing to do with the book's cover. It's about the people who Henderson meet in Africa believing you can tell a person's personality and character just by looking at them.
Dystopia: The Arnewi village has been devastated by the frogs who invade the water and render it non-potable. It's so bad that the newborns cannot get any milk from either the cows or their own mothers, to the point that the newborns display anger over this.
Darkest Africa: On full display, with the natives described as "savages" regularly, and descriptions of them performing ritual dances, lion hunts, and tossing human skulls around for sport.
Forced Transformation: Whoever is Rain King shall be transformed into a lion.
Journey to Find Oneself: Henderson claims this is why he traveled to Africa.
Meaningful Name: Lily's first husband was Hazard, who gave her a good punch in the eye.
Mighty Whitey: A disaffected middle-class American goes to Africa and quickly impresses the local tribe enough for him to have a leadership position bestowed upon him. Bellow plays this trope brazenly straight here.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Although done out of good intention, Henderson in his strategy to destroy the frogs ends up destroying the Arnewi people's cistern instead, depleting their entire water supply and not one frog dies.
Oh, Crap!: Henderson realizes that King Dahfu only wants him around to be the successor as Rain King because it turns out whoever is King will ultimately transform into a lion and Dahfu wants to transfer that curse to him.
Rich Boredom: Henderson is bored out of his mind by how much wealth he has, which was passed down to him by his father, a famous scholar who wrote a book about the Albiensians. In fact, Henderson never even had to work for a living to become rich. His net worth comes out to $3,000,000 after taxes so under U.S. tax code his father must have made $5,000,000.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Henderson finds his homeland, the United States, unable to continue giving him anymore excitement into his life which is what causes him to travel to Africa and stays there for most of the novel. But then his unpleasant stay in Africa and having to avoid turning into a lion makes him invoke this trope again to return back to the United States to start his life over again instead of staying as the Rain King.
Victory Is Boring: Henderson has difficulty finding any real challenges in life no matter what he does.
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