God Knows [Paperback]

Joseph Heller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 1997

Joseph Heller's powerful, wonderfully funny, deeply moving novel is the story of David -- yes, King David -- but as you've never seen him before. You already know David as the legendary warrior king of Israel, husband of Bathsheba, and father of Solomon; now meet David as he really was: the cocky Jewish kid, the plagiarized poet, and the Jewish father. Listen as David tells his own story, a story both relentlessly ancient and surprisingly modern, about growing up and growing old, about men and women, and about man and God. It is quintessential Heller.

Editorial Reviews

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 12, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684841258
• ISBN-13: 978-0684841250
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #347,495 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

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Entertaining Than Catch 22, July 1, 2000

By 

"randytheviking" - See all my reviews

This review is from: God Knows (Paperback)

If Heller had written Catch 22 with the same kind of easy style he exhibits in God Knows, then I might too be among those rabid Yosarian fans who claim it one of the best books in the damn universe. But it wasn't, and anyway, this review is about God Knows. There are many novels out there that make me smile and/or chuckle, but God Knows is one of the few that made me laugh out loud in several places. Read it if only for the passage with the lisps. You'll know what I mean when you get there. And I like the original treatment of Kind David, making him more human than divine. I normally avoid speculating on what the author was thinking or trying to do with a character, but given Heller's treatment of David's sense of time and the way David constantly claims credit for contemporary work, I kept thinking of him as a paranoid/neurotic in a mental ward somewhere imagining himself as David. Next time I'm at a seance I'll ask Heller if that was the case. But mental patient or not, the style still worked for me. Now some petty critiques: for such a build up regarding Solomon and his brother, the pay off was small to non-existent. The reader knows all along what happened with Solomon, and the expected fireworks never appeared. Fizzled even. And Heller (or a competent editor) could have or should have cut out about forty pages worth of redundancy. But there's so much entertainment here that, unless you're an easily offended pious type who can't take a little good natured blasphemy (stay away from that not helpful button, you) I enthusiastically recommend the book.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pull Out Your Bible and GIGGLE!!, January 16, 2001

By 

David (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God Knows (Paperback)

In what can only be called the shear GENIUS of Joseph Heller, God Knows crosses the line between biblical irony and just plain FUN!! As a member of the clergy I found this book a refreshing and oftentimes TOO POIGNANT look at one of the greatest biblical heroes! Heller breathes life and REALITY into a character of mythical proportions. . . just in time to remind us that we are all HUMANS and a part of God's work. I am sorry for those Catch-22 fans that cannot let go of their IDOL WORSHIP for Joseph Heller. They are missing out on good writing and some downhome chuckles. . . GO FIGURE!!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blasphemy at its most hilarous and biting, August 7, 2002

By 

Bill R. Moore (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God Knows (Paperback)

Although I would not say that this book is entirely on the level of Heller's first three books (all masterpieces), as it does not, perhaps, resonate with the vibrancy and poignancy of everyday life as those works do, God Knows is nevertheless an entertaining, blasphemous, and laugh-out-loud hilarous Bibilical parody. Many an author has turned their skills to the task of setting a famous Bibilical character into the universe of modern literature and re-telling their story that way, but few have done it with the intelligence, wit, and sheer knowledge of Heller. This is the work of a man that, though perhaps a Jewish atheist (I'm not too sure of what Heller's religious views were), nevertheless clearly had a vast and perhaps encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible - or the Old Testament, at any rate. Here, we have the story of King David ("the best story in The Bible", as the narrarator himself repeatedly tells us), told through Heller's first-person satiric lens, casting the famous and mythical character straight into the pantheon of modern literature. Many may well consider this book blasphemous (although I am glad, and pleasantly surprised, indeed, to see in some of the other reviews here that members of the clergy have read and enjoyed it), it is all in good fun, and quite an entertaining read - as well as also hitting home at several points. Although there are several laugh-out-loud segments, Heller, beneath the farce, is also asking existential questions, as well as tackling some complex moral issues: God's apparent inclination towards punishing the innocent for the crimes of the guilty is given a good bit of attention here. Although this book may well have some sort of a built-in audience due to it's Bibilical leanings, it probably does not have a more or less universal audience as his first three books did - being steeped heavily, as it is, in its subject matter. I think that you will enjoy the book a lot more, and will certainly find it funnier, if you are familar with The Bible - or at least the parts that it deals with. Indeed, if you are highly steeped in Bibilical subject matter, you may well consider this Heller's best book. I reccommend it regardles, however: even if you are not knowledgable with its inherent subject matter, you will still find the book enjoyable, especially if you are a fan of Heller's particular style and liked his other writings.