In his first novel, "The Man in the Dark," published in 1944, Saul Bellow tells the story of a man who waits for his draft notice in a boarding room in Chicago during World War II. In this time of uncertainty, he keeps a diary, subjects himself to contemplative self-observation, and comes to realize that he is profoundly out of step with his times. He does not belong to the hardened types and patriotic heroes that represent the idols of his era.