More Love to Amy

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Amy Schneider continues to win on Jeopardy.

Today, she revealed that she is re-reading one of her favorite books, "Catch-22."

Joseph Heller's black comedy is by far my favorite novel. Catch 22 could have been tossed in the dustbin many times. First -- it took Heller forever to write it. Then it was only a mediocre seller in hard copy. It wasn't until it was put out on paperback and sold for .75 that it took off and became a hit. I read it first when I was fifteen. And have read it many times since.

If I had been asked to edit the book I wouldn't have known where to start. I've written several stories with changing POV characters, but Catch 22 simply breaks all the "rules" in this regard.

In Vonnegut terms, Heller became unstuck in time quite often, making the book devilishly hard to follow.

In one of my writing classes in college, the professor asked us to pick a novel and write what it was about the characters that made them so unforgettable. Another student, who later became a lobbyist for MLB, also wanted Catch 22 (She actually wrote a very good book about lobbying.) I suggested one of us take the characters from the first half of the alphabet -- and the other could have the rest. She immediately selected the second half, probably thinking about Yossarian. I didn't mind a bit because of Major Major Major Major and Milo Mindenbinder.

It's Catch 22's wit and unvarnished truthfulness about life and war that makes this a great novel, one of the best of all times.

If you're missing Amy's romp on Jeopardy she is trans, sweet, and winning people's minds along with more than a $million.

She now is in third place for the most consecutive wins. If she wins four more days in a row, she'll be in second place to Ken Jennings.

Jill

Comments

Rejections

"Joseph Heller's Catch-22 was rejected a pleasing 22 times (“It is really not funny on any intellectual level”). Or Frank Herbert's Dune, turned down 23 times before it was picked up by a publisher that specialized in automotive manuals."
....Regrettable Rejections

Among my favorite

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

Catch 22 is among my favorite books. I remember reading it when I was 19 or 20. I would lay on my bed and read in the evening. I had to go into the bedroom to read it because I couldn't keep from laughing out loud. Many times I had to lay the book aside for more than an hour because my stomach hurt too much from laughing so hard.

Hugs
Patricia

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