Nelson Algren, who had a passionate love affair with Simone de Beauvoir in the 1940s and 1950s, further belies his austere and reserved manner in The Man With the Golden Arm (7 Stories Press, $9.95 in US), a novel of down-and-outs in postwar Chicago, first published in 1949. With great insight and compassion he develops his characters, Frankie Machine (the anti-hero), Umbrella Man, Sparrow, Blind Pig, Niftie, Louie, along with many more. The reader is forced to share, through graphic detailing, their daily battles for survival, their loves and betrayals, their drinking and gambling. It is a funny book, it is a sad book, it is joyful and despairing, but always the doggedness and generosity of the human spirit keep shining through.