Henderson the Rain King

In Saul Bellow's comic fable, Eugene Henderson, a discontented 55-year-old American millionaire, decides that money and all that it can buy is not enough. He travels to Africa, lives with an African tribe, and becomes a god to the people there when he convinces them he is able to make rain. Finally, knowing that his real gifts are as a healer, Henderson returns to the states to drastically change his life. Most of Bellow's novels are autobiographical, reaching into his own life and circle for plot and character, and in HENDERSON, the main character is reportedly based on a close friend--but Bellow has also claimed that, of all his creations, Henderson is the one most like himself.