Henderson the Rain King
Henderson the Rain King,novel by Saul Bellow, published in 1959.
Gene Henderson, an intense, vital millionaire, leaves his Connecticut home for Africa in quest of wisdom, and to satisfy his inner voice's cry, “I want, I want.” With Romilayu, a loyal guide, he visits the Arnewi, a humane, cattle-loving people suffering from drought. He makes friends with the king Itelo and his aunts, Mtalba and Queen Willatale, serene, wise women, tries to aid them by cleansing the polluted water supply, but accidentally destroys it, and leaves, disgraced and saddened. Traveling to the island of the Wariri, he finds drought again and he wagers the king, Dahfu, there will be no rain, but overwhelmed by a tremendous “wish to do something …to work the right stitch into the design of destiny before it was too late,” he persuades Dahfu to let him try to move an immense idol, the statue of the goddess of clouds. He succeeds, a deluge follows, and...
[The entire page is 332 words long]
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