ABSTRACT

Though Nagel devotes an entire section of his volume to Heller’s drama, there is a tendency in general studies of Heller to treat him purely as a novelist and to ignore this dramatic work. However, Merrill, in the first book-length study of Heller’s work, and Ruderman, in her more recent general treatment of Heller’s writing, avoid this tendency, and both place discussion of the drama right in the centre of their critical studies. Seed’s book, though it refers in the title only to the fiction, also gives prominence to the plays. Granted, MERRILL’s discussion is entitled “The Novelist as Playwright”, but still the plays are treated as independently significant works. Two chapters are devoted to Catch22, testimony to the importance of that novel in all critical assessments of Heller’s career. The first chapter treats the novel in relation to literary tradition and the second offers an analysis of the tructure and meaning of the text. While Something Happened is discussed in the context of its mixed critical reception, Good as Gold and God Knows are discussed as “Jewish Novels”. Merrill offers useful information in the form of a chronology and an annotated selected bibliography.