Joseph Heller
Paperback | Pages: 368 pages Rating: 3.8 | 3245 Users | 196 Reviews
Itemize Books In Pursuance Of God Knows
| Original Title: | God Knows |
| ISBN: | 0684841258 (ISBN13: 9780684841250) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Prix Médicis Etranger (1985) |
Representaion During Books God Knows
Joseph Heller's powerful, wonderfully funny, deeply moving novel is the story of David -- yes, King David -- but as you've never seen him before. You already know David as the legendary warrior king of Israel, husband of Bathsheba, and father of Solomon; now meet David as he really was: the cocky Jewish kid, the plagiarized poet, and the Jewish father. Listen as David tells his own story, a story both relentlessly ancient and surprisingly modern, about growing up and growing old, about men and women, and about man and God. It is quintessential Heller.Specify Of Books God Knows
| Title | : | God Knows |
| Author | : | Joseph Heller |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 368 pages |
| Published | : | November 12th 1997 by Simon Schuster (first published 1984) |
| Categories | : | Fiction |
Rating Of Books God Knows
Ratings: 3.8 From 3245 Users | 196 ReviewsArticle Of Books God Knows
Having been a huge fan of Catch-22, I had been curious to read more of Heller's work for a long time. Something Happened, his follow-up to Catch-22, is the book that I had heard the most about- mainly that it was a challenging read that left many of his fans reeling and wondering whether he had lost his knack for finely honed satire. I had never even heard of God Knows until it was placed in my hands last week with the recommendation that it was "like Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ'sOriginally published on my blog here in May 2004.Even for the most dedicated Heller fan, and the impact of Catch-22 created vast numbers of them, his second and third novels are frequently heavy going. But then eventually (over twenty years into his career, for he was never a particularly prolific novelist) came God Knows - immediately accessible, hilariously funny and wickedly subversive.The idea behind God Knows is simple. David, King of Israel, author of the psalms, recounts his life while on
Heller's take on the story of King David. More emphasis on humour than his other books, but with a healthy helping of satire. A great (and quite alternative) retelling of the story by a great author.
I am naturally interested in the Old Testament and especially King David (I think he's one of the most screwed up yet passionate figures in the Bible)... but his angst-driven hoopla and paranoia annoyed me after the first 300 pages or so.
Sort of a madcap version of King David's story, told in the first person, of course including more vivid descriptions of some of the bawdier details than the Bible does. Heller doesn't sacrifice the real account at the expense of entertainment though, so I came away really being amazed by David's story told again, and reminded of many details I had forgotten. I was impressed by his steadfastness in the face of serious hardship and adversity and his faithfulness to God, even though there is
Heller does another marvelous job in picking a topic and structure to write about. He combines history, with fiction, and modern knowledge/anachronism. Heller is a great humorist, but his style of writing leads to many opportunities to miss his jokes. First, it requires that the reader be familiar with other works of literature. In this case it is mostly the Bible, which cannot be taken as a given anymore, despite its appearance in "Jeopardy" categories (as a benchmark for cultural literacy). In
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