Herovits World by Barry N. Malzberg
Herovits World is a novel by Barry Malzberg that explores the struggles of Jonathan Herovit, a thirty-seven-year-old science fiction writer grappling with severe writer's block and personal turmoil. Set in a cramped New York City apartment, Herovit is haunted by feelings of inadequacy regarding his writing, particularly his ninety-third novel, Survey Sirius. As he battles alcoholism and the pressures from his demanding agent, Morton Mackenzie, he faces the disintegration of his marriage to Janice, who grows resentful of her role as a housewife. The narrative delves into the impact of Herovit's failures on his psyche, especially as he attempts to adopt a more assertive identity through the persona of Kirk Poland, a name suggested by his editor for its American appeal.
Despite his efforts to reinvent himself, Herovit continues to encounter personal and professional humiliation. The story culminates in a poignant and chaotic climax, where he imagines himself as his fictional character Mack Miller, leading to a tragic realization of his disconnected reality. Malzberg crafts a vivid portrayal of the life of a disillusioned writer, capturing the stark contrast between the vibrant worlds of science fiction and the bleakness of Herovit’s existence. The novel ultimately serves as a commentary on the challenges faced by creative individuals and the often painful intersection of art and life.
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Subject Terms
Herovits World
First published: 1973
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—cautionary
Time of work: 1973
Locale: New York City
The Plot
In Herovits World, Barry Malzberg tells the grim tale of the last days of the books antihero, thirty-seven-year-old science-fiction writer Jonathan Herovit. Sitting at his desk in his crammed study in a rent-controlled apartment in New York City, Herovit finds himself unable to complete his ninety-third science-fiction novel. Beset by a severe case of writers block that comes from his justified feeling that his work is of poor literary quality, and plagued by ever-increasing personal problems, Herovit takes recourse in drinking and daydreaming. He attempts to assume a new, more self-assertive identity.
Under intense pressure by his strong-willed agent, Morton Mackenzie, to deliver his manuscript, Herovit furthermore has to face the disaffection of his wife, Janice, who quit her job when their baby, Natalie, was born, and resents her new role as housewife to an unproductive, alcoholic writer. A visit from his old friend Mitchell Wilk, who has escaped producing low-paid science-fiction manuscripts by accepting a college writing position, brings with it not only Wilks raid on Herovits Scotch but also a caustic condemnation of the awful text he is writing.
By graphically setting apart the typescript of Survey Sirius, the adventure Herovit is writing, Malzberg shows the reader plenty of the purple prose of classic science-fiction stories: Futuristic weaponry zaps alien life-forms while words tumble wildly in sentences haphazardly strung together.
Trouble with Janice, an overreliance on hard liquor, and a bitter self-realization of the miserable quality of his work lead Herovit to attempt to become another man. At first, he tries the character of Kirk Poland, who is based on what Herovit has imagined to be the suave, accomplished personality behind his own pen name. Since his start as a science-fiction writer, Herovit’s editor has asked him to write his work under the more American-sounding name of Kirk Poland rather than using his own. Even as Kirk Poland, Herovit cannot avoid humiliation at the hand of Janice, who simply walks out of his life.
As Herovit continues his slide into despondence and madness, Malzberg uses his characters erratic actions, paranoid musings and sorrowful reflections to create a novel that paints a caustic, yet vividly realistic, picture of the living and working conditions of a burned out science-fiction writer.
The end comes as Herovit is visited again by Wilk, who arrives with Gloria, Herovits former mistress, with whom Wilk has spent the night. Unable to face reality even in his new incarnation as Kirk, Herovit suddenly believes himself to be his futuristic action hero Mack Miller, who is stranded on a world he has orders to destroy. Punching Wilk and running into the street, Herovit/Mack Miller assaults a few bystanders before being struck fatally by a car. Dying as a deluded man, the novel suggests, Herovit has become a victim of the gap between his violent fiction and his hopeless, shabby life.