Seize the Day, first published in 1956, is Saul Bellow's fourth book, containing the title novella, three short stories, and a one-act play.

[2][3] A review in The New Republic stated that the volume contained "at least three brilliant stories", and concluded, "Altogether, Bellow seems more suited by temperament and ability than any writer or his generation to create for America 'the untreated conscience' of modern man.

The title story centers on a day in the life of Wilhelm Adler (a.k.a.

He is poor, unemployed and separated from his wife (who refuses to agree to a divorce).

He is also estranged from his children and his father, a highly regarded former doctor who lives in the same Broadway building.