Reviews

Closing Time by Joseph Heller

apas's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I have 2 favourite books with a special place in my heart. One is Catch22. I was so looking forward to this sequel but also afraid to read it in case it was disappointing. And unfortunately my fear was realized. I was bored for a big part if it.

alekswhite's review against another edition

2.0

I had a feeling that reading this wouldnt live up to how much I enjoyed the first one. It just felt like the absurdity of the Cold War era did not really change tack in this book. We live in an era of "alternate facts", of increasing intrusion of technology and government into our lives and yet this felt like "old man bumbles around the world making superfluous statements about it" like what was the point of this book?

If the point had been to illustrate that the world, like Yossarian, was exactly the same as it was in the 1950s then, point failed. This was bumbling, circuitous and never really made a point to make any kind of point.

piku_baumann's review against another edition

DNF at 100 pages. Just can't be arsed.

franklyfrank's review against another edition

2.0

Another unnecessary sequel. Just like the forgettable sequel to the handmaid's tale, this book didn't really need to be written.

jelek86's review against another edition

3.0

Two months is a long time for me to read any book, especially in the summer. I think this dragged on for me because Yossarian spent a lot more time reflecting than actually doing anything. The ending seemed a little disconnected from the bulk of the plot, too. Oh, well.

jenmeleon's review against another edition

2.0

This book, like Catch-22, had scenes, characters and plot strands that bordered on absurd and completely confusing. I am sure some of that was intentional, but some of it was also due to my not paying attention as closely as I should have. Overall, the book was hard for me to get through, although there were some enjoyable moments and it was interesting to revisit these characters in a non-war setting and see where their lives had ended up 50 years later. I also wonder if I might appreciate the book more if I were older and could relate more to the characters' life experiences.

jesssalexander's review against another edition

5.0

Like Catch 22, this is more of a statement than a story. Through paradox and parody, Heller expands his concept from his first book that life is absurd, humanity is senseless, and nothing is reasonable. Only now, instead of focusing on WWII, we find Yossarian at the end of his life (hence, closing time) battling the senselessness of American capitalism, the government, and foreign policy in a post Cold War world. A world in which a bomber can be an "instrument of peace." We find Yossarian as the book begins- in satisfying symmetry- again in a hospital in perfect health. Single and mingling and on the high side of sixty, Yosarrian has some kids, some cynicism, and some life maxims he doesn't believe but thinks are true. He makes it out of the hospital, plans a wedding in a bus terminal, gets his girlfriend pregnant, and faces the end of times at the hands of a videogame-playing president who accidentally detonated nukes. Like before in Catch 22, it is hard to decide whether Yossarian is crazy or everyone else is. I'll need to read both books a few more times to really get it, but I love what I can glean from the first read through!

jzelman's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

allenjd's review against another edition

dark funny reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

karawhipple's review against another edition

2.0

Yikes. Catch-22 does not translate well to 1990s New York.