This well-preserved hardcover is near fine, pages are tight and unmarked, the book is tight, square, and unmarked. The dust jacket is in good condition, green cloth boards, and bright gilt lettering on the spine of the book. Saul Bellow received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976. He was awarded for his human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture. The Dean's December is a novel by Saul Bellow, published in 1982. The story centers around Albert Corde, a college dean and former journalist from Chicago, who travels to Eastern Europe with his wife, Minna, to visit her dying mother in Bucharest. The novel contrasts Corde's experiences in Communist Romania with his life back in Chicago, highlighting the cultural and political differences between the two places. The Dean's December is often regarded as a more somber and reflective work compared to some of Bellow's earlier novels.