Catch as Catch Can: The Collected Stories and Other Writings by Joseph Heller (E

Description: Catch as Catch Can by Joseph Heller, Matthew J. Bruccoli, Park Bucker Years before the publication of "Catch-22" ("A monumental artifact of contemporary literature" — "The New York Times; " "An apocalyptic masterpiece" — "Chicago Sun-Times; " "One of the most bitterly funny works in the language" — "The New Republic"), Joseph Heller began sharpening his skills as a writer, searching for the voice that would best express his own peculiarly wry view of the world.In "Catch As Catch Can," editors Matthew J. Bruccoli and Park Bucker have for the first time collected the short stories Heller published prior to that first novel, along with all the other short pieces of fiction and nonfiction that were published during his lifetime. Also included are five previously unpublished short stories, most reflecting the influence on Heller of urban naturalist writers such as Irwin Shaw and Nelson Algren.The result is an important and significant addition to our understanding and appreciation of Joseph Heller, showing his evolution as a writer and artist. For those unfamiliar with his work, it will serve as an excellent introduction; for everyone else, "Catch As Catch Can" is a chance to explore a new aspect of Heller's remarkable career. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description A collection of short stories and other miscellaneous writings by Joseph Heller, one of Americas most influential and idiosyncratic writers. Years before the publication of Catch-22--which was called "a monumental artifact of contemporary literature" by The New York Times, "an apocalyptic masterpiece" by the Chicago Sun-Times, and "one of the most bitterly funny works in the language" by The New Republic--Joseph Heller began sharpening his skills as a writer, searching for the voice that would best express his own peculiarly wry view of the world. In Catch As Catch Can, editors Matthew J. Bruccoli and Park Bucker have for the first time collected the short stories Heller published prior to that first novel, along with all the other short pieces of fiction and nonfiction that were published during his lifetime. Also included are five previously unpublished short stories, most reflecting the influence on Heller of urban naturalist writers such as Irwin Shaw and Nelson Algren. The result is an important and significant addition to our understanding and appreciation of Joseph Heller, showing his evolution as a writer and artist. For those unfamiliar with his work, it will serve as an excellent introduction; for everyone else, Catch As Catch Can is a chance to explore a new aspect of Hellers remarkable career. Author Biography Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn in 1923. In 1961, he published Catch-22, which became a bestseller and, in 1970, a film. He went on to write such novels as Good as Gold, God Knows, Picture This, Closing Time, and Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man. Heller died in 1999. Table of Contents Contents Foreword by Matthew J. Bruccoli and Park Bucker Previously Published Stories I Dont Love You Any More (1945) Bookies, Beware! (1947) Lots Wife (1948) Castle of Snow (1948) Girl from Greenwich (1948) A Man Named Flute (1948) Nothing to Be Done (1948) World Full of Great Cities (1955) MacAdams Log (1959) Love, Dad (1969) Yossarian Survives (1987) Catch-23: Yossarian Lives (1990) The Day Bush Left (1990) Previously Unpublished Stories To Laugh in the Morning A Day in the Country From Dawn to Dusk The Death of the Dying Swan The Sound of Asthma Play Clevingers Trial (1973) On Catch-22 Catch-22 Revisited (1967) Joseph Heller Talks About Catch-22 (1972) Reeling In Catch-22 (1977) "I Am the Bombardier!" (1995) Recollection Coney Island: The Fun Is Over (1962) Review The San Diego Union-Tribune Read this collection chronologically to appreciate Hellers growing command of tone and plot. Or dip in and out to sample his variety, which encompassed theater..., stories of romance, violence and heroin, travel writing and the memoir. He was so versatile that he could have concentrated on any one of these genres. Review Quote The San Diego Union-TribuneRead this collection chronologically to appreciate Hellers growingcommand of tone and plot. Or dip in and out to sample his variety, which encompassed theater..., stories of romance, violence and heroin, travel writing and the memoir. He was so versatile that he could have concentrated on any one of these genres. Excerpt from Book Chapter One: I DONT LOVE YOU ANY MORE Joseph Heller is twenty-two years old, born and educated in Brooklyn, New York, and, after three years of service in the Air Corps, is planning to enter the University of Southern California. He says, "I was stationed on the Island of Corsica with a B-25 squadron of the Twelfth Air Force and flew sixty combat missions as a bombardier, earning the Air Medal with seven oak-leaf clusters and a Presidential Unit Citation. I was discharged from the Army in June under the point system and have been comfortably rehabilitating myself ever since. At present, I am busy trying to get a play produced." She stood in the center of the room, her arms folded across her ample bosom and he could almost see the fires of anger flickering within her. She was doing her best to control them. "You arent being very considerate, you know," she said quietly. "I know," he replied, "Im sorry." "I dont believe you are sorry," she said. She waited for him to answer but he remained silent. "Are you?" "No," he said. "Im not." She didnt answer him immediately; she didnt know what to say. It wasnt working out right. He had been home three days now and it was getting worse. The first day they had been uncomfortable, very cautious and considerate, feeling each other out as prize fighters do, not being themselves at all, and hoping to pick up the thread of happiness from where it had been dropped almost a year ago when he left. The second day should have been better, but it hadnt been. She was still considerate, too much so, and he found that something in the routine was getting on his nerves and making him bitter. And now they were quarreling; not yet, but he could see it coming because he was deliberately bringing it on. He was being cruel purposely, not really wanting to be, but nevertheless deriving some perverse pleasure in seeing her unhappy. He had been thinking about her for ten months, thinking about how nice it was going to be when he got back to her, and now he was back and it wasnt nice at all. He fingered the Chinese puzzle in his hands unconsciously, two metal rings, and without being aware of it, he deliberately thwarted himself each time from separating them. He caressed them with his hands, enjoying their cold firmness as he waited for her to speak. "Harry and Edith are coming over," she said finally. "Thats nice." "Will you put some clothes on?" "No." "Why wont you?" "I dont want to." "What do you want?" she implored. He looked up at her while he thought it over. He was lying on the davenport completely naked except for a pair of shorts he was wearing, his thick, close-cropped hair uncombed and wisps of it standing out in all directions. He drank in the sight of her as she stood with her arms folded and he wondered why he had ever married her. It was her build, he decided. She was tall, taller than average, and everything about her was big, but she was put together in excellent proportion and was well rounded so that she possessed a strong physical attraction. "I dont want to meet anybody," he said. He hadnt left the apartment since he had arrived. "I dont want to meet my family or your family, or any friends. I dont want to sit in a room filled with people who are all beaming at me as if I were some marvelous mechanical toy, and play the modest hero. I dont want to tell anybody what it was like and smile shyly as they tell me how wonderful I am." She unfolded her arms and let them fall to her sides. She moved a few steps toward him. "What do you want to do?" she asked. "Just what I am doing now," he said. "I want to lie here relaxed and comfortable and drink beer. Will you go downstairs and get me a pitcher of beer?" "I will not," she said indignantly. "Im your wife, not a servant. What did you marry me for? It would have been cheaper to hire a maid." "I know," he said. "I married you because it was part of the dream." "It hasnt been easy for me," she said, and asked, "What dream?" "The sugar and tinsel dream of life," he said smirking. He didnt want to smirk but he left the expression unchanged. "The Readers Digest beautiful panorama of a beautiful life. You were a pretty girl, I was a good-looking boy; we are both just a trifle oversexed, so we got married. It was the thing to do, wasnt it?" "Im doing my best," she said plaintively. "If you would only tell me what you do want, perhaps I could be more of a help. I know that you are disappointed but I dont know why. What did you expect to find?" "I want to do what I want to do," he said. She refolded her arms. "That makes sense," she said bitterly. "That makes a lot of sense." "You dont understand," he said in a patronizing voice, still fumbling with the puzzle. "I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it. Is that better?" "No," she said. "Ill try to break it down for you. If you miss some part of it let me know and Ill repeat it. Right now I want to lie here exactly as I am doing. Two hours from now I may want to go to the Stork Club. I dont know. While I am there I may want to sing aloud at the top of my voice, but right now I want to lie here without any clothes on and drink beer." "You know it hasnt been easy for me." "I know it hasnt. Im sorry." She walked to the side of the room and sat down in an armchair, once again not knowing what to say next. She didnt want to surrender to the anger that she was trying to repress, but she could feel it swelling within her as if it were something having physical dimensions. "Youve changed," she said softly. "I know," he said. "Youve said that several times before, but its the truth." He waited for her to reply but she made no motion to speak. "I dont like George Gershwin any more," he said, "so dont feel too badly about it." Now he was becoming brutal, and he could feel himself filling with self-contempt for it. He knew what she would say next and he felt a glow of pride as she obliged him. "What does George Gershwin have to do with it?" she asked. "I used to think about his music all the time. How much I missed it and how when I got home, I would sit down and listen to him for hours. Well, I got home finally, and I listened to his music and I found that I didnt like it." "I dont see it," she said. He turned on his side so that he could look her fully in the face. "Its the same way with you, Anne," he said slowly. "I dont love you any more." She sat up quickly as if the words had slapped her across the face. "Thats not true," she said. "No, it isnt," he said. "But I dont. Thats the way it is and as long as it is that way, we might as well face it now. There isnt any point in dragging out something that is unpleasant. The kindest use a knife because the dead soon grow cold." He studied her features to see if she was going to cry and he saw that she wasnt. He noticed it with disappointment. He became conscious of the rings in his hands and he grated one against the other mechanically as he waited for her to speak. "Thats nice," she said. "Thats very nice." "Thats the way it is." "Do you want a divorce?" she asked. "No," he said, "I dont want a divorce. I have been leaning upon you for support too long a time. Psychologically, I am dependent upon you." "Good God!" she exclaimed in desperation. "Then what do you want?" A mischievous smile played with his mouth. "A pitcher of beer," he said. She rose to her feet and walked from the room. He turned over on his back and stared at the ceiling, feeling unhappy, wanting something and not knowing just what it was. He heard her come back into the room, but he continued to lie there without moving. "Will you please get dressed?" she said. "Well talk about it some other time." "No," he said. "Harry and Edith will be here soon. I cant very well entertain them in the hallway." "Send them in." He turned to his side and looked at her. "Ill see them." "Put some clothes on, then. Youre naked." "Harry and Edith have been married for five years. If she isnt familiar with the anatomy of the male by this time, then she has been missing a hell of a lot and it is my duty as a friend to enlighten her." "Will you at least put a robe on?" she asked. Her voice was low and her words were carefully pronounced, and he could tell that the break was soon coming. "No," he said. He turned over on his back again and looked down at the puzzle in his hands, watching her carefully through the corner of his eye. She stood motionless for a few seconds, looking at him. Then she let a long, loud breath escape her and her mouth formed a resolute line. She turned and walked to the clothes closet. "Where are you going?" he asked. His tone wasnt smug any more. It quivered with alarm. She didnt answer. She removed her coat from the closet and put it on. She opened her purse, fumbled inside it, and withdrew a bankbook. "Here is your money," she said. "Where are you going?" She set the bankbook down on a table and left the apartment. "Damn!" he said explosively. He heard a slight click and he looked down at his hands. The rings of the puzzle had com Details ISBN0743257936 Short Title CATCH AS CATCH CAN Pages 352 Publisher Simon & Schuster Language English ISBN-10 0743257936 ISBN-13 9780743257930 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY FIC Year 2004 Residence New York City, NY, US Birth 1923 Death 1999 Subtitle The Collected Stories and Other Writings DOI 10.1604/9780743257930 Imprint Simon & Schuster Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2004-03-05 NZ Release Date 2004-03-05 US Release Date 2004-03-05 UK Release Date 2004-03-05 Author Park Bucker Publication Date 2004-03-05 Edited by Park Bucker Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:8570448;

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