Books by Joseph Heller
“I read it quite young, and my mother picked the book up to find what I was reading, and read the opening lines of chapter four, I think it is, in which the narrator—the biblical king David of Israel—describes shepherding as being like cunnilingus: ‘dark and lonely work’. I did not know what it meant, but the book was confiscated, and I only finished it much later, and laughed, not just at that, but at many of the salty, sly observations on life and death that David, or Heller, makes.” Read more...
The Funniest Historical Novels
Toby Clements, Journalist
“This is the great war book of the twentieth century. It’s laugh-out-loud funny. He’s talking about the Second World War, which is thought of as the good war. He picks up on an aspect of war which has gone on since Homer. You have an overarching war strategy which might make sense, but, for the individual, the things they’re asked to do can seem absolutely ludicrous — in this case to fly death-defying, practically suicidal missions. It’s completely illogical, being in the war zone. He captures that brilliantly: through repetition, through completely farcical situations and through extremely harrowing moments as well…..It gets you to the point where you can’t apply your reason any more and laughter takes over. It’s the laughter of the absurd.” Read more...
Kate McLoughlin, Literary Scholar
Interviews where books by Joseph Heller were recommended
The Best War Writing, recommended by Kate McLoughlin
War writing extends to all sorts of genres, including blogs and Twitter. Oxford University’s Professor Kate McLoughlin, author of Authoring War: The Literary Representation of War from the Iliad to Iraq recommends some of her favourite books of war writing.
The best books on Americans Abroad, recommended by Charles Glass
The much-travelled writer and broadcaster Charles Glass tells us about misunderstandings and misadventures of Americans in foreign lands.
The best books on Political Satire, recommended by Lee Camp
Humour can be better than mainstream media at speaking truth to power, says the American comedian and activist. He discusses masters of the art, from Jon Stewart to Joseph Heller
William Boyd on Writers Who Inspired Him
The novelist William Boyd tells us about the authors, from Chekhov to Heller, who most influenced his own development as a writer – and reveals the secret to a well-crafted sex scene
The Funniest Historical Novels, recommended by Toby Clements
Historical fiction, as a genre, is not known for its laugh-a-minute qualities. But that’s not to say there isn’t space for humour, when the events of the past have so often been surreal, ironic, or downright disastrous. Toby Clements, whose new novel A Good Deliverance takes the form of a 15th-century prison confession, recommends five of the funniest historical novels.
