No Laughing Matter [Hardcover]

Joseph Heller (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 335 pages
• Publisher: G.P. Putman's Sons (1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0224024124
• ISBN-13: 978-0224024129
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,287,139 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

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No Laughing Matter... Info for Guillian Barre victims, August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: No Laughing Matter (Paperback)

Joseph Heller relates his terrifying experience with the disease Guillian Barre Syndrome, a debilitating, but rare disease affecting the peripheral nervous system. Any medical practitioner, nurse, or victims relatives should make this book required reading so as to appreciate the symptoms and effects of the disease, as well as to understand the recovery period and what's involved with it. Although Mr. Heller had a severe reaction, most victims experience a lesser effect and recover more quickly. The book is highly recommended from a victim of the disease.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warm, funny, scary and vivid all at the same time, October 31, 2001

By 

Andrew McCaffrey "The Grumpy Young Man" (Satellite of Love, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Laughing Matter (Paperback)

NO LAUGHING MATTER is a very informative and entertaining piece of writing. Co-authored by Joseph Heller and Speed Vogel (who write alternating chapters) it details the effects of the rare debilitating affliction called Guillain-Barre syndrome. This autobiographical/biographical chronicle passes along a lot of information without once falling into obscure medical dullness.

Guillain-Barre is a disease that attacks the central nervous system, rendering the victim completely paralyzed. Although what Heller contracted was a mild form of the disorder, in an extreme case mentioned a patient was only able to move their eyes. Recovery is possible from this disease; if it's caught early enough, the patient can be hooked up to a respirator if need be and then slowly rehabilitated. NO LAUGHING MATTER is two stories. The first is that of Joseph Heller the patient who goes from being in (seemingly) perfect health to being utterly bedridden in a matter of days. The second part of the tale is told by Speed Vogel, a friend of Heller, who took care of virtually all of his financial, legal and personal obligations.

From reading some other reviews of the book, one might be under the impression that this is a light and fluffy feel-good story of friendship where one will be forced to read numerous passages on the deeper meanings of love and caring. People learning great life lessons by sacrificing much that they have purely in the name of camaraderie. Chicken soup for the soul and novocain for the brain. Fortunately, one couldn't be further from the truth. While the two authors obviously have a great fondness for each other, you won't find any obvious soliloquies on the healing power of friendship. What you will find are people who care a great deal, but aren't afraid to share a lot of good-natured abuse. While in sickness and on the road to recovery, this never feels false or sugarcoated. It's an honest account of what real friendships are made of.

Despite the title, much of the book is laugh out loud funny. Heller may have been bedridden but he didn't lose any of his trademark wit. Celebrity cameos of everyone from Dustin Hoffman to Mario Puzo to Mel Brooks help to liven up an already interesting narrative. Both authors have a warm and engaging style of writing that makes even the more incomprehensible medical jargon understandable. The jokes are great and serve also to counterpoint the feelings of desperation and of loneliness.

The book is extremely intriguing, though there are one or two sections that don't quite work. Heller was going through what appeared to be a fairly messy divorce and the legal proceedings got a little bit complicated. For a section, Heller even reproduces a few pages of the court transcripts in order to show his lawyer in the right. As justified as he may be in including these segments, they aren't nearly as interesting as the rest of the book and pale in comparison.

NO LAUGHING MATTER shows us illness from two viewpoints. From Vogel we see the outward appearance of the disease and its effect on Heller. From Heller we experience the sickness firsthand. It's a fascinating dual look at the nature of the affliction. Well worth a read.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On surviving a strange disease....., March 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Laughing Matter (Paperback)

Mr. Heller describes his battle with Guilliame-Barre syndrome, a disease which can lead to paralysis, and even death. He chronicles the daily emotional and physical demands this disease makes on him by including even the most personal details. I applaud Mr. Heller for writing about this episode in his life and sharing it with others. I encourage all doctors, nurses, and medical personnel, to read this book to gain a better view of the patient's perspective. To read more on this subject, try Sue Baier's moving account of her battle with Guilliame-Barre disease in her autobiography "Bed Number Ten".