<![CDATA[Closing Time]]>

false <![CDATA[Closing Time]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172854508m/223737.jpg 223737 17 <CENTER>A darkly comic and ambitious sequel to the American classic Catch-22.</CENTER> In Closing Time, Joseph Heller returns to the characters of Catch-22, now coming to the end of their lives and the century, as is the entire generation that fought in World War II: Yossarian and Milo Minderbinder, the chaplain, and such newcomers as little Sammy Singer and giant Lew, all linked, in an uneasy peace and old age, fighting not the Germans this time, but The End. Closing Time deftly satirizes the realities and the myths of America in the half century since WWII: the absurdity of our politics, the decline of our society and our great cities, the greed and hypocrisy of our business and culture -- with the same ferocious humor as Catch-22. Closing Time is outrageously funny and totally serious, and as brilliant and successful as Catch-22 itself, a fun-house mirror that captures, at once grotesquely and accurately, the truth about ourselves. 1834779 book 1994 Closing Time total:887|5:40|4:158|3:373|2:235|1:81| 887 2502 1393 67 2 2 false false Mon Apr 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 11:39:15 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 09:18:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 11:25:10 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 11:25:10 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 00:06:04 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 00:16:55 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 22 19:41:08 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 22 20:33:19 -0700 2009 1 Catch-22. Or rather, the cover advertises it as a sequel, but it might be more accurately described as a continuation, set towards the end of the 20th century. Heller possesses the knack for adopting an indelible style for each of his books, and the aesthetic he...more...]]> 2 1 false false Fri Jul 20 07:10:09 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 20 07:24:24 -0700 2007 1 0 false false Mon Jun 01 14:33:07 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 12:35:46 -0700 2009
Basically everything Catch 22 wasn't.

I don't think I've ever read a book which has deteriorated so badly after the first 100 pages. That section of the book is fantastic and shows a lot of promise, though from then on it just di...more...]]> 2 0 false true Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 1997 Thu Jul 31 04:53:44 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 09 14:40:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 21:42:41 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 13:23:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Jan 25 23:22:35 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 18:29:33 -0800 2008
A lot of people have read Catch-22, which is deserving of most...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 02 10:06:23 -0700 2007 Thu Mar 20 08:41:29 -0700 2008 Catch-22 had a sequel even since I read it during the summer of 2000. Heller mentioned it in the preface to the edition I had, spoiling me (Yossarian lives!) and I even knew that my beloved Chaplain Tappman was in it. But I loved Catch-22 so ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat May 30 18:20:28 -0700 2009 Sat May 30 18:23:32 -0700 2009 Catch-22. It's not exactly embarrassing -- Heller can still form complete sentences and churn out a plot, for example -- but is more on the order of an act of desecration, like painting color all over Michaelangelo's David. Not a "must-not-read," because you may simply...more...]]> 3 0 true false Tue Sep 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 06 17:08:39 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 21:47:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Mar 16 13:30:54 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 15:08:09 -0700 2009 Catch-22, and also picking up the story decades after its predecessor left off. It's rather less funny and more complicated, showing the viewpoints of many different characters as Yossarian's generation approach their inevitabl...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Sep 03 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Mar 27 08:39:52 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 08:39:52 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Mar 31 15:48:02 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 15:49:43 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Nov 23 11:59:23 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 12:01:10 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 04 18:24:57 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 18:43:02 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Jan 23 17:11:33 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 29 08:29:23 -0800 2008
I'm tough, people do what I want. I'm not the smartest, but damn I do what I want. I'm really tough. I scew all the girls I ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jan 15 12:43:47 -0800 2008 Wed May 28 06:43:44 -0700 2008 Closing Time has moments that are reminiscent of the biting, ridiculously hilarious satire of Catch 22, but it also suffers from slow pacing and a somewhat scattered narrative. Overall, the characters are compelling, but the situations don't always resonate, and Heller fails to make the connectio...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Aug 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 06:16:47 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 06:33:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=223737