Author Saul Bellow dies at age 89

BROOKLINE, Mass., April 5 (UPI) -- Saul Bellow, a Nobel laureate, Pulitzer Prize winner and one of the most acclaimed U.S. authors, died Tuesday in his home in Brookline, Mass., at age 89.

His death was announced by Walter Pozen, Bellow's lawyer and friend, who did not disclose the cause of death, but said he was "wonderfully sharp to the end" and had been working regularly until the last year or so, the Washington Post reported.

Bellow inherited the richness of Jewish culture, nourished it on the streets of Chicago, and became a writer who sought to ground his art on the bases of humanity. He was born in Lachine, Quebec, June 10, 1915, the son of Russian immigrants. His family moved to Chicago when he was age 9.

He was educated in Chicago public schools, the University of Chicago, and finally at Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor's degree in anthropology in 1937.

He wrote novels, one play, a collection of short stories, a non-fiction account of a trip to Israel and a stream of critical essays.

His first novels, "Dangling Man" and "The Victim," brought little attention, but his "The Adventures of Augie March," won the National Book Award. Bellow followed with "Seize the Day," "Henderson the Rain King," "Herzog," "Mr. Sammler's Planet" and "Humboldt's Gift," which won the Pulitzer Prize.

He was married five times and had three sons, Gregory, Adam and Daniel; and a daughter Naomi Rose.