Closing Time: The Sequel to Catch-22, Joseph Heller
I am on the last pages of Closing Time: The Sequel to Catch-22 (ISBN: 0684804506) by Joseph Heller (link1, link2) . A book that has had me in tears, of sadness, of sentimentality and of sadness, and those of mirth and of course humor. I am not sure I want to finish this book at all; I know I will miss desperately all the character that in such a short time I have come to know so well. And what a farce the book is too, full of insanity and down right stupidness, and well, quite unsettling in places.
Catch-22 was good, but it was written for and by another generation; the war babies. Closing Time though is more recent, albeit from the nineties (I am getting on myself!). Cultural references are immediately understood. This makes Closing Time so much more of an enjoyable book for me than 22. I read some reviews about this book and they generally started with “I liked Catch-22 so much I was let down by this book” well I disagree. I think though it’s just a matter of time (in which you were born), not of Heller’s writing.
Except for 22 I had not been exposed to this style of writing before. Each chapter is it’s own short story, almost self contained, told by different people, sometimes writing about similar events. However it’s the connectivity that brings this book of thirteen books all together under the one title. If you don’t know why there are thirteen books then ask Yossarian, don’t expect an answer he won’t have one, but I expect he could put you in touch with someone who does, this man did organise a wedding in the PABT.
Impending death and death of the older generation is a big theme in this book, Heller himself was 65 when this book came out in ’95, he lasted only another four years before he himself succumbing I believe to a disease he must have used somewhere in this book. This got me thinking about my parents, their age, the fact they are even now, in there sixties loosing friends. The books also made me think about my old age, if I get there, especially so concerning my wife, Andrea, this was one of the reasons this books reduced me to tears, books rarely do this to me, maybe it’s pregnancy hormones a bubbling.
Notable chapters: chapters that really touched me were the ones about Lew, from two different perspectives, firstly his own, and then his wife. Check out Chapter 11 – Lew and Chapter 31 – Claire.
EMERGENCY ENTRANCE
NO ADMITTANCE
THIS DOOR MUST BE LOCKED AND BOLTED WHEN IN USE Read this book, I cannot recommend it enough. Darn, I have just finished it.
4.5/5
Posted by iwsmith at January 7, 2004 01:52 AM
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