Joseph Heller Libri

Limitato a 50 anni dalla prima pubblicazione, "Hlava XXII" è il primo e più celebre romanzo di Joseph Heller, un'opera iconica contro la guerra. Il libro racconta le disavventure del protagonista Yossarian e della sua squadriglia di bombardieri, impegnati in missioni con successo alterno in diverse città italiane. Heller offre una critica spietata della macchina militare, rappresentata da ufficiali cinici e ambiziosi, rivelando l'assurdità della guerra attraverso un racconto grottesco e surreale. Basato sulle esperienze personali dell'autore, il romanzo anticipa le posizioni pacifiste che, qualche anno dopo, sarebbero state amplificate dalla guerra del Vietnam, specialmente tra le giovani generazioni. Con uno stile che ricorda vagamente "Le avventure del buon soldato Švejk" di Hašek, Heller riesce a trasmettere un messaggio profondo e provocatorio sulla follia della guerra e le sue conseguenze.

Il romanzo è un viaggio eclettico attraverso tre periodi storici, tutti collegati dal dipinto di Rembrandt van Rijn, Aristotele che contempla un busto di Omero. Con una costante riflessione tra le diverse epoche, si salta avanti e indietro tra il tempo di Aristotele, Rembrandt e Heller: l'età d'oro di Atene, il secolo d'oro dell'Olanda e l'età d'oro degli Stati Uniti. Come nella versione di Heller della storia di re Davide, Dio sa, l'autore cambia poco nella trama originale, eccellendo nei contrappunti narrativi e storici, alcuni espliciti, altri impliciti. L'incomprensione potrebbe aver contribuito alla tiepida accoglienza di questo libro. Heller conclude che non impariamo dalla storia. Infatti, gran parte della storia potrebbe essere non fattuale, rendendo l'apprendimento impossibile. Essendo un cronista pessimista del Secolo Americano, il suo tema principale non detto è il parallelo tra l'ex sovrano ellenico e il suo paese d'origine. Questo è più evidente nel suo trattamento della caduta di Atene, quando, dopo la vittoria sui Persiani, formò la Lega Delio e si coinvolse nella Guerra del Peloponneso. Descrive un faro di democrazia che distrugge i propri progressi, trasformandoli in strumenti di abuso, rivoltandosi contro i propri alleati solo per dimostrare il proprio potere e perdendo contro nemici più deboli a causa dell'autoinganno.

Joseph Heller is suddenly struck by a diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition that can lead to paralysis of all muscles. For Heller, this means six months in the intensive care unit. In collaboration with his long-time friend Speed Vogel, he recounts these harrowing months, exploring themes of illness, vulnerability, and the human spirit's resilience in the face of adversity. The narrative delves into the emotional and psychological challenges of coping with a life-altering condition, offering insights into the fragility of health and the strength found in friendship and support. Heller's experience becomes a profound reflection on life, mortality, and the struggle to maintain one's identity amidst overwhelming circumstances.

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 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.

The demented Army Air Force of Catch-22, the lethal business world of Something Happened, the dysfunctional family of Good as Gold - all these, we have assumed, had their roots in Joseph Heller's own past. Now, more than thirty-five years after the explosion of Catch-22 into the world's consciousness, Heller gives us his life. Here is his Coney Island childhood, down the block from the world's most famous amusement park. It was the height of the Depression, it was a fatherless family, yet little Joey Heller had a terrific time - on the boardwalk, in the ocean (dangerously out of his depth), playing follow-the-leader in and out of local bars, even in school. Then a series of jobs, from delivering telegrams (on his first bike) to working in a navy yard - until Pearl Harbor, the air force, Italy. And after the war, college (undreamed-of before the G.I. Bill), teaching, Madison Avenue, marriage, and - always - writing. And finally the spectacular success of Catch-22, launching one of the great literary careers

The previously uncollected writings of Joseph Heller, including hitherto unpublished stories, lost chapters from CATCH-22 and further tales from that novel's unforgettable 'hero', Yossarian.

Bob Slocum was a promising executive. He had an attractive wife, three children, a nice house, and as many mistresses as he desired. His life was settled and ordered; he had conformed and society demanded he be happy - or at least pretend to be, But the pretence was becoming more and more difficult, as Slocum's discontent grew into an overwhelming sense of desolation, frustration and fear. And then something happened. . . .

Bruce Gold, a middle-aged, Jewish professor of English literature, finds himself on the brink of a golden career in politics -- and not a moment too soon, as Gold yearns for an opportunity to transform a less-than-picture-perfect life: His children think little of him, his intimidating father endlessly bullies him, and his wife is so oblivious that she doesn't even notice he's left her. As funny as it is sad, Good as Gold is a story of children grown up, parents grown old, and friends and lovers grown apart -- a story that is inimitably Heller.

Catch-22 was published in 1961, immediately becoming a classic. Now, 33 years later, Joseph Heller has written the sequel, revisting many of the characters, now older if not wiser, that made Catch-22 so unforgettable a novel.

De zwarte humor, de absurde logica en onvergetelijke personages als Yossarian, de bommenrichter die denkt dat de vijand erop uit is hem te vermoorden, en de gewiekste messofficier Milo Minderbinder, maken Joseph Hellers Catch-22 tot een indrukwekkend boek. Catch-22 is de oorlogsroman die alle andere oorlogsromans overbodig maakt: origineel, bitter, vulgair, geestig, spitsvondig en ontroerend.

Das Konzept des "Paragraf 22" wurde von Joseph Heller in diesem Roman geschaffen - einem der großen literarischen Meisterwerke des 20. Jahrhunderts. Es bedeutet allgemein ein Paradoxon im Gesetz, in Regeln oder in der Realität, das den Menschen zum Opfer seiner eigenen Handlungen macht, unabhängig davon, was sie sind. Im Werk geht es um einen scheinbar gewöhnlichen Absurdität. Wenn ein Pilot verrückt ist, kann er aufhören zu fliegen. Er muss nur ablehnen. Aber wenn er ablehnt, ist er normal und muss weiter fliegen. Diese raffinierte und schreckliche Definition wurde nach der Veröffentlichung des Romans häufig verwendet und missbraucht. Sie ist zu einem Symbol für die Widersprüche in der "entwickelten Gesellschaft" geworden.

Imagine an author who has become a legend in his own lifetime - all because of the novel he wrote in the first flush of youth. Novelist Eugene Pota is a cultural icon of the twentieth century, struggling to write what will be the last novel of his career. But what to write about when, like so many noted authors before him, all of Pota's output since that first, landmark novel has been scrutinized and dissected - and found wanting? PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST, AS AN OLD MAN follows Pota's efforts to settle on a subject for his final work. In his search, Heller - through Pota - pays homage to his favourite authors and discusses the problems that have plagued so many writers whose later works failed to live up to the successes of their first: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, Jack London, Joseph Conrad, to name but a few. It is a rare and enthralling look into the artist's search for creativity, a search that comes at a point in life when impotence - both sexual and spiritual - has become a frustrating fact. Joseph Heller must have known that this would be his final novel; it stands as a fitting testament to the life and works of a leading light in modern literature.