The Monkey King's Used Primate Emporium and Book Reviews

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Joseph Heller, "We Bombed in New Haven"

Started January 21 � Finished January 21. Posted 22 January 2002

What is about novelists from the 40s through the 60s that made them feel they had to try their hand at writing plays? Steinbeck did it, Vonnegut did it, and Heller did it. I guess it�s the same thing as novelists writing for the movies these days, with one exception: the writers of plays were probably looking for critical acclaim, while the writers today are looking for quick cash.

Heller seems like a guy who made lots of jokes, but in reality was a kind of sad man. You can see it in Catch-22, but even more so in later works like Something Happened, Good as Gold, and Closing Time. This play was the first full-length work since the publication of Catch-22, and a lot of the absurd humor is used well here, with Heller having characters break out of ... well, out of character, for lack of a better term.

He even starts it with an intentional gaffe, having the curtain rise before the background props are in place, making everybody on stage look about nervously at the audience, wondering whether to go on like nothing happened, or to finish setting up the background scenery. There�s lots of sarcasm and wordplay, and the play seems goofy in a good way, like it would be enjoyable to watch.

But then the end comes around, and Heller wants to make THE POINT. THE POINT being about the nature of war, and death, and the sanctity of human life. The change in mood goes from absurd playfulness to somber sadness and longing so suddenly that you concentrate more on the jarring switch in tempo or mood, rather than THE POINT that he�s making. Still, though, it was a very fun read, and much much better than Something Happened or Closing Time.


Rating: Eh, I suppose it�s worth buying new.

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