Catch As Catch Can [Hardcover]

Joseph Heller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2003

The previously uncollected writings of Joseph Heller, including hitherto unpublished stories, lost chapters from CATCH-22 and further tales from that novel's unforgettable 'hero', Yossarian. Not many writers introduce a phrase - let alone a whole idea - into the language. In CATCH-22, Joseph Heller invented a motif for the modern world. For that book alone he is one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century. But where did the author who was able to create that novel come from? And what happened to those remarkable characters? CATCH AS CATCH CAN for the first time collects early works, previously unpublished stories and lost chapters of CATCH-22 to chart the development of a genius. It also explores the consequences in the later stories of the unforgettable Yossarian, and Heller's non-fiction pieces, in which the author reflects upon his childhood in Coney Island and the novel which shaped everything that was written after it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With his first book, the seminal anti-war novel Catch-22, Joseph Heller became one of American literature's most important 20th-century writers. The posthumous collection, Catch As Catch Can: The Collected Stories and Other Writings, shows Heller's early development as a writer, but in essence provides the "outtakes," "B-sides," and sketches related to Catch-22, and several nonfiction pieces regarding it, mixed with juvenilia. A more appropriate title might have been The Making of Catch-22.

Heller's early forays into fiction are somewhat memorable, such as "The Girl from Greenwich," a story about vanity, and "A Man Named Flute," wherein a father deals with the discovery of his son's drug use. Also, "World Full of Great Cities" is a disturbing look at what a couple might do to save their marriage. This collection, however, contains a great many works that revolve around Catch-22, or contain characters that appear in that work, including two chapters cut from the novel and published as independent stories: "Love, Dad" and "Yossarian Survives." Not surprisingly, these are the strongest works in the book. "Love, Dad" provides the first introduction to Edward J. Nately III, who "was often lonely and nagged by vague, incipient longings. He contemplated his sophomore year at Harvard without enthusiasm, without joy. Fortunately, the War broke out in time to save him." Joseph Heller will be known forever for his great novel, Catch-22, and Catch As Catch Can serves to back up this notion. --Michael Ferch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This posthumous collection of Heller's writings combines his published stories with five previously unpublished ones, along with several essays about the writing of-and fallout from-Catch-22 and a play based on that novel. The collection, which covers 50 years of Heller's work, is striking for its range of tone. Readers familiar only with the acid humor of Catch-22 will be surprised by the melancholy of his early naturalistic stories about poverty, forgotten war heroes and recovering drug addicts. WWII vet Nathan Scholl returns from a heroin treatment program in Kentucky to his native Washington, D.C., where he drifts through his old haunts dejected and uncured, in "To Laugh in the Morning." In "Lot's Wife," Sydney Cooper watches as his wife, Louise, nonchalantly smokes a cigarette in the car, unaffected by the presence, outside the vehicle, of the injured man she's just run down. The couple reappear in "The Death of the Dying Swan," she as a party hostess with a plastic smile, he as the dutiful but resentful husband who escapes the party by volunteering to buy a jar of mustard. The collection shows the gradual evolution of an author who began his career writing polished but predictable stories and ended up inventing a voice and idiom that came to define the postwar era. The volume will be much appreciated by Heller's fans and students.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (July 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743239784
• ISBN-13: 978-0743239783
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,571,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn in 1923. In 1961, he published Catch-22, which became a bestseller and, in 1970, a film. He went on to write such novels as Good as Gold, God Knows, Picture This, Closing Time (the sequel to Catch-22), and Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man. Heller died in December 1999.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Catch Heller Rising to Literary Greatness, January 28, 2005

By 

Bohdan Kot (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catch As Catch Can : The Collected Stories and Other Writings (Hardcover)

Joseph Heller is famous for bringing the phrase catch-22 into the popular lexicon with his best-selling first novel, "Catch-22." However, Heller did write short stories before his novel days began. Well-crafted short stories - five never before published - a play and non-fiction writings by Heller comprise this posthumously published book thanks to the editing of Matthew J. Bruccoli of the University of South Carolina and Park Brucker.

"Catch as Catch Can" is a delicious treat for "Catch-22" fans who desire more of Heller's black comedy since a third of the book concerns itself with the novel, "Catch-22." "Yossarian Survives," a small chapter originally deleted from "Catch-22," contains the irresistibly funny lines, "Don't just lie there while you're waiting for the ambulance. Do push ups."

But what really makes this collection interesting, especially for aspiring writers, is "observing Joseph Heller's apprenticeship." Heller's first published short story, "I Don't Love You Any More," dates from 1945 and is about a military man returning from WWII who decides he is not in love with his wife anymore. This short story and many other early ones lack Heller's satirical voice perfected in his novels. There are hints of the biting humor, but the reader can clearly sense Heller is struggling for his own voice. Heller in fact writes, "there wasn't much distinctive about all but two or three of the stories I was writing at this time. I now wanted to be new . . . Original." Bruccoli and Brucker write, "Not until `MacAdam's Log' (`Gentlemen's Quarterly', 1959) did Heller break through the conventional magazine formula." "Catch as Catch Can" allows us to catch Heller's progression from stock short-story writer to literary genius.

Bohdan Kot

5.0 out of 5 stars Great collection!, October 23, 2010

By 

Jeremy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Catch As Catch Can: The Collected Stories and Other Writings (Paperback)

I love Joseph Heller's work and these stories are great. A lot of supplemental material for his infamous Catch-22 as well. I highly reccomend the book to anyone who likes clever and meaningful stories.

4.0 out of 5 stars Catching Up with Joseph Heller, July 10, 2008

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Catch As Catch Can (Hardcover)

If for no other reason, fans of Joseph Heller will enjoy this book because it supplements his great work "Catch-22". While some of the short stories are amusing, they are largely unspectacular in showing a young writer developing his craft.

The short story "Yossarian Survives" is a humorous chapter that was deleted from "Catch-22". Some might suggest it is the centerpiece of this collection. "Catch-23: Yossarian Lives" and "The Day Bush Left Office" are previews to the sequel to "Catch-22" called "Closing Time". Restated in the form of a play is an omitted chapter titled "Clevinger's Trial". "Love, Dad" further develops the Nately character from "Catch-22". This is a virtual goldmine for lovers of "Catch-22".

The non-fictional "I am a Bombardier" and "Coney Island: The Fun is Over" are vivid recollections of Heller's pre-war and post-war observations respectively. The loss of childhood innocence in "Coney Island" is heartbreaking.

These short stories are only a demonstration of a writer learning his craft. Though these stories are unspectacular, a few are noteworthy. "Girl for Greenwich" shows parallels to the plot of Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Substance abuse is a common theme in the other stories. "I Don't Love You Anymore" and "A Man Named Flute" stand out in this theme.

With respect to this collection of stories, fans of "Catch-22" and Joseph Heller will be delighted in the stories. It is a misfortune that it is so difficult to find in print in America.