SOMETHING HAPPENED

I am currently trying to write a review/synopsis/statement of relevance for Joseph Heller’s book Something Happened.  This has been the most important piece of literature in my life and I believe it is the best work of American Literature, and the weight of this is making my review plodding, disjointed and generally bad.

So, in an attempt to find some inspiration or at least alleviate my hours of writing frustration, I will give you some favorite quotes from the book.  Enjoy (err, experience?) them.

ALL QUOTES FROM OUR NARRATOR/ANTIHERO BOB SLOCUM.

“It’s a wise person, I guess, who knows he’s dumb, and an honest person who knows he’s a liar. And it’s a dumb person, I guess, who’s convinced he’s wise…”

-I think Heller probably knew that we can’t always be original, either.  This is strikingly similar to a few Samuel Clemens quotes on intelligence, one of which is: “A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.”

“Something did happen to me somewhere that robbed me of confidence and courage and left me with a fear of discovery and change and a positive dread of everything unknown that may occur.”

-I enjoyed living the un-analysed life.  Then, my high-school sweetheart became a nun and soon after a loved friend died at the hands of a drunk driver.  Something happened, and I feel that I am just now finding ways to escape from the ensuing ten-year malaise.

“I no longer think of Derek as one of my children, or even as mine. I try not to think of him at all. This is becoming easier, even at home when he is nearby with the rest of us, making noise with some red cradle toy or making unintelligible sounds as he endeavors to speak. By now, I don’t even know his name. The children don’t care for him, either.”

–I am adopted. I have little care for bloodlines and family ties.  Nationality and genealogy have little practical place in this world, yet it is a core part of nearly all cultures. Imagine the implications upon Mr. Slocum and his disabled child- there might have been room for love but for the weight of eons of expectations.

“There was a cheerful baby girl in a high chair in my house once, who ate and drank with a hearty appetite and laughed a lot with spontaneous zest: she isn’t here now; and there is no trace of her anywhere.”

-How many times have you heard “Oh, it’s just the terrible twos” or “Oh, she’s just a teenager”? What if these aren’t intended stages of human growth? I think they aren’t. What would that then say about us and our world that our children are growing into?

My son is nearly two, and my heart will break permanently if this is his path.  The world will also have permanently gained and enemy, as it seems to have with Bob Slocum.

“The world just doesn’t work. It’s an idea whose time is gone.”

-Too many pervasive habits and rituals that stunt love and thought.

Example:  Christianity has killed more people than Hitler, Mao and Stalin combined, yet even atheists generally acquiesce to the idea that Jesus is generally good.  Example: war and killing is justified if our lives are threatened, yet there is no agreement on what type of ‘life’ is being defended, apart from what currently constitutes ‘us.’ Examples:  Heterosexual Marriage and monogamy at their essence are ideas that predetermine which type and how many people are/might be your soul mates.

Ok.  I think this worked.  Brainstorming complete. See you soon with more.