Picture This

Would it be some kind of sacrilige to say that this is a better piece of writing than Catch-22 ? Catch-22 is a superior emotional and autobiographical work, for sure; it is his "best" because of how closely it pulls readers through the dark comedy of warfare, which Heller experienced firsthand. But Heller's particular brand of wit comes through in a different way here, and proves his mettle as a writer, and not just as someone who came back from WWII with a "story to tell." The soul of this book is a political one, but the generosity Heller shows his characters -- who just happen to be Rembrandt and Aristotle -- is wonderful. Catch-22 is immersed in the "present" in that wartime is all about surviving hour-by-hour; what's neat about Picture This is how it looks at democracy and capitalism as they have existed for centuries: Socrates was put to death for "corrupting the youth" long before the NSA turned the U.S. into a police state; likewise the Dutch found out what a mess capitalism was hundreds of years before Wall Street. The genius of this book is in that Heller never really explicitly points a finger at modern states, but just points at the trail of dead they've left over thousands of years. Heller pulls art and history through the lens of capitalism & corruption, and he's deadpan-funny while he does it. Also helping the cause: the last few lines of this book are my favorite ending to any novel, ever.

"picture this" is a masterpiece of writing. it is an enchanting work, about often tragic subjects, showing humanity both at it's greatest and it's lowest points, which often occur at the same times. cynnical, informative, wonderfuly funny, complex and sad sometimes, it is one of the best books I have read

Joe Heller had a hell of a job matching Catch 22. The reviews of its ostensible sequel Closing Time (many of them unfairly negative) prove this. Several of his works in the 70's and early 80's tried to live up and, although decent novels, fell well short of the mark. Ultimately in 1988 he struck gold (no pun intended) again. Picture this is a tour de force of all of Heller's best dialogue writing, irony and subtle political commentary and does all of the things right that Catch 22 did, although at a somewhat lesser volume. It has always been a mystery to me why the book wasn't better received critically and financially, apart from the possible fact that it came close on the heels of Heller's frightening episode of Guillan Barre syndrome and his nonfiction work on that experience. Anyone who has enjoyed his best work and been slightly disapponted by his also-rans ought to pick this one up for a light but thoughtful and entirely pleasant read.

Readers contemplating Heller writing Rembrandt painting Aristotle contemplating a bust of Homer should themselves be considered amongst Heller's most refined audience. Having stripped away the superficial trappings of plot, Heller tells a marvelous tale. Having brushed aside continuity, Heller is able to put history in its inevitably tragic context, for which the only defense is unrelenting laughter. Readers of Catch-22 will be pleased to find that the Master of noir comedy has since greatly improved his skills, leaving the now classic, more-than-just-an-anti-war-novel as a comparative table-scraps. Read it twice, savioring the incomperably involuted prose. Then go back and read it again for the story itself.

From the first completely confusing page to the final full stop Joe Heller uses history from two entirly different era's with no connection whatsoever (except a particular painting) To show the failings of history itself. He highlights many different obsurdities and shows modern life for what it is; a fragile construction on foundations of sand. An absolute must of a read. Personal ranking of all the books I'v read 1 Duncan M Shields [email protected]