Bob Slocum is truly deplorable in every sense of the word. And yes, he's a Republican.

Our reactions to art are significantly influenced by our environment and what's happening in the world around us. Had I read this book a few years ago, before a sexist pig became president, before #metoo and the exposure of widespread misogyny, I probably would have had a different perception. I might have been able to distance myself more easily if I still believed that things had drastically improved since 1966, that the reality of "Mad Men" was firmly in the past and bore no resemblance to today's American society. But we all know better now, don't we? I started reading this last August, as the movement was just getting started. Months later, I regretted choosing it, but I soldiered on. And I'm glad I did. I didn't love the book. It's simply too disturbing. But I didn't hate it either. It's just too real.

Bob Slocum is a truly horrible person. The novel is entirely composed of his inner monologue, and it's sickening. Just imagine a person, completely devoid of ethics except for giving others the illusion of having them, utterly self-absorbed and despicable, revealing to you his every depraved thought and neurotic obsession. That's precisely what this novel is like. It's not to say that he's a flat character. On the contrary, the character is extremely complicated and fully developed in a multi-dimensional portrayal. He's aware that he's "no good." He feels guilt and shame, yet he doesn't do much about it. He plays the roles assigned to him: husband, father, business executive. He lives a seemingly successful life while internally punishing himself instead of making an effort to be a better person.

In "Catch-22," you feel sorry for the characters because war has made them horrible people. I get the impression that Heller wanted us to feel bad for Slocum, suggesting that society has made him a horrible person. In fact, Slocum views himself as a victim, angry at others for how their misfortunes impact him. He gets upset at his family for making him abuse them. The truth is, he's a horrible person because of the choices he makes. There was no great horror inflicted upon him that has irreversibly messed him up. He goes through life using people whom he imagines are using him in return, and he's been doing this his entire life. Slocum is truly sick and twisted, and he really has no redeeming qualities. In a way, this novel is a horror story that delves deep into his depraved mind and lingers there for almost 600 pages, rambling and repeating itself. The "something" that occurs is contained within two paragraphs at the end of the second to last chapter. Slocum doesn't deal with it; instead, he buries it and talks about everything except that defining incident in the last chapter. All loose ends are tied up, and you're left with the knowledge that nothing gets better. We're doomed without hope of a better life in a society that is incredibly shallow, self-centered, and materialistic. This book serves as a biting commentary on American society, which has not changed much beneath the surface since Heller wrote it. It's a difficult read, with some parts being disgusting and vile. I'm glad I read it, but I can't wait to get it out of my house.

I am currently on an upward trajectory. Meanwhile, Kagle is on the downward path. Interestingly, he moves at a faster pace. It is truly a remarkable phenomenon that only in America could such a thing be possible, where two completely opposite movements can occur simultaneously.

Look at me. I am ascending like a majestic condor, soaring towards greater heights. However, at the same time, I feel as if I am falling to pieces inside. Maybe a similar situation occurs in Russia, but since I don't live there, I can only speculate.

Every river in the world, without exception, is supposed to flow from north to south as it empties into the sea. Well, that's the general rule, except for those that don't follow this pattern. And the laws of the conservation of energy and matter stipulate harshly and impartially that energy and matter can neither be created nor destroyed.

***

"I asked for me. I was not there either. (I had never done that before.) It made me sad to hear that." This short passage seems to convey a sense of self-reflection and a tinge of sadness. It makes one wonder about the nature of our existence and our search for ourselves.

I gave up on the book after approximately 20 pages.

I do appreciate Heller's writing style. However, this particular type of novel, which was perhaps relatively novel at the time of its writing, has now been extremely overdone.

It is the amoral, dispassionate, existential novel that nonchalantly hammers home the depressing reality of a life devoid of universals.

One feels burdened by the meaninglessness, hopelessness, listlessness, and the flippantly debaucherous nature of a life without any underpinning or direction.

I believe the first example I'm aware of was Camus' "The Stranger," which is one of my favorites. But now, such novels seem to be incredibly common.

They make me feel unclean and depressed. And since I'm already familiar with the concept, for my part, I'm not going to subject myself to such torture.

Aside from the Silmarillion, which I initiated in approximately 2016 and still have not completed, this could potentially be the lengthiest period it has ever taken me to finish a book. Oh, what a malicious and tiresome drudgery it has been. Perhaps it had a more profound impact back in 1975, but I really don't know.

It shares similar iconic meandering and blatantly dreadful personalities as Catch 22. However, unfortunately, it falls short in terms of having the same sense of plot and surreal comedy. It seems to lack that certain je ne sais quoi that made Catch 22 such a memorable and engaging read.

While it may have its moments, overall, this book has been a bit of a disappointment. I keep hoping that it will pick up and surprise me, but so far, that has not been the case. Maybe I'm just not in the right frame of mind to fully appreciate it, or perhaps it's simply not as good as I had initially expected. Only time will tell if I will eventually come to love this book or if it will remain a forgettable experience.

I read for pleasure, and this gave me none.

Reading is supposed to be a source of joy, a way to escape into different worlds and explore new ideas. However, this particular experience left me feeling empty and unfulfilled.

I had high hopes for the book, expecting it to capture my imagination and transport me to another place. But as I turned the pages, I found myself struggling to stay interested. The story lacked depth and the characters were one-dimensional.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't seem to find any pleasure in the reading. It was a disappointment, as I had been looking forward to losing myself in a good book. But sometimes, even the most promising reads can fall short of our expectations.

Maybe I'll give it another try at a later time, or perhaps I'll move on to something else in the hopes of finding that elusive pleasure in reading once again.

The book of life, divided between a large corporation and an "ordinary" American family.

I have an interesting story with this book. I happened to be in a place where others were late and I had nothing suitable to read except this book. In one evening, I read about a hundred pages. After a certain period of time, I bought it and accidentally carried it in a bag that was stolen from me. Later, I bought it again, but I didn't continue reading it.

Regarding the plot, those who know what it's about don't have much reason to read it. Those who don't know - also. Otherwise, it is well-written and realistic.

This book seems to have a certain charm that keeps attracting me. Maybe one day, I will pick it up again and finish reading it to truly understand the story it has to tell.

It makes me wonder what kind of impact this book will have on my life. Will it change my perspective on something? Or will it just be another book that I have read and forgotten? Only time will tell.

A very normal and very middle-class man's obsessed and anxious ramblings about work and family and relationships but, like, in a good way.

This man, let's call him John, is constantly thinking about his job. He worries about meeting deadlines, getting promoted, and impressing his boss. At the same time, he is deeply concerned about his family. He wants to provide a good life for his wife and children, and he frets over whether he is spending enough time with them.

In his relationships, John is no different. He wonders if he is a good friend, a good husband, and a good father. He is always second-guessing himself and his actions, afraid that he might be hurting someone or making a mistake.

But despite all this obsession and anxiety, there is a certain charm to John's ramblings. He is a man who cares deeply about the important things in life, and his concerns are relatable to many of us. We can all understand the stress of work, the importance of family, and the complexity of relationships. And in his own way, John is trying to navigate through all of these challenges and find some sort of balance and happiness.

Generally, when an author makes his debut with a great book, two things often occur. Either the subsequent books of the author are not as good as the first one, or even if he writes a better book, it somehow always remains in the shadow of the first one. The latter happened to Joseph Heller with his second novel, 'Something Happened'. To me personally, it is as good as 'Catch-22', if not slightly better. However, it somehow does not seem to have received the same level of importance as 'Catch-22' or captured people's imagination to the same extent as the first novel.

Told in the first-person narrative, the novel is about Slocum, a manager-level employee at a firm. The book can be divided into three strands: one about his work life, another about his family, and the third about his reminiscences of the past. The novel follows a similar narrative pattern of hysterical realism as in 'Catch-22', but in a more controlled manner. In some ways, it can be seen as a mix of the office novel genre and the dysfunctional family novel genre, and perhaps even a coming-of-age novel with Slocum's past (though it's not clear if Slocum ever truly grew up).

As the novel begins, Slocum is on the verge of getting a promotion. He has a relatively stable family with two kids, but he is extremely insecure. Insecure about what? Well, everything in life. This sums up Slocum and the novel. He is insecure about his professional performance, his marital life, and worried about his kids going astray. Slocum seems to be a bundle of nerves and insecurity. How does he deal with it? Well, for one, he masks his insecurity in the way most people do, by being overly aggressive, overly sarcastic, or trying too hard to be funny, which often ends up with him insulting others. For example, his interactions with his kids. He is so afraid for them, fearing that his daughter will end up with bad friends and his son may be left alone if he suddenly dies, but he is unable to express it clearly and instead comes across as a heartless father.

The novel is well-written in the sense that it captures the mindset of an insecure soul perfectly. In fact, it is so perfect that it could be the major problem in the novel, one reason why it is not discussed more. What I am referring to here is the prose of the novel. The repetitiveness in the prose, with the same thoughts being discussed again and again, can actually put off the reader as being too incoherent. But wouldn't a mind as troubled and stressed as Slocum's be like this? Wouldn't he obsessively keep thinking about the same things? Yes, this novel is not an easy read, but when you consider Slocum's mindset and try to relate it to the prose, then I believe the reader may appreciate and understand it better.

In the office, Slocum spends most of his time worrying about getting fired, even though, as he himself says, he works well, meets his targets, gets his bonuses regularly, and is generally regarded as a solid employee. But why this fear of getting fired? Why this insecurity? What happened to him? You never really find out. The office parts of the novel are hilarious, with professional jealousies, backbiting, people trying to climb the corporate ladder while pulling others down. On the other hand, we also see people in very high-level positions who spend their time doing nothing worthwhile, while driving those below them like slaves, hoping that the work will be done by their subordinates. Official conferences, which are just an opportunity for the big shots to get wasted, are described in a laugh-out-loud manner. We get an understanding of how a huge, monolithic organization manages to function, how things somehow get done, even though when you look at the actions of the employees, it's almost as if they don't care about anything. The organization can be seen as a machine whose path has been charted a long time ago and which is humming along nicely, regardless of the individual merits or demerits of the employees.

In Slocum's past, we see a young man (really a boy), just out of the war, working in a small position at an office, trying to reconcile the madness of the war he witnessed with the (so-called) normal social life. His main concern is to have an affair with a co-worker, which does not come to fruition despite his efforts. You can't simply dismiss it as a youngster's normal impulse. There seems to be something deeper in the office and among the workers that has stayed with Slocum. Maybe that's why he keeps calling the old office's number and making crank inquiries about the old employees.

This is a tough novel in some parts, but it is well worth it. Along with 'Catch-22' (http://wordsbeyondborders.blogspot.co...), this is a masterpiece of Heller. If 'Catch-22' was about a person trying to make sense of the madness of war, this novel is about a person trying to make sense of the madness of normal life. Slocum is not a likable person by any means, but that's what makes him so close to us. In that sense, Slocum seems to be a more鲜活 and relatable kind of man than Yossarian of 'Catch-22'. (Of course, that's not Heller's mistake. How many of us have any first-hand experience of the horrors of war, but most of us would have had some of the experiences of Slocum.)

The novel still has its resonance today. How many of us don't suffer from some sort of boredom or ennui, even if it's at a minor level, in the work we do and in our daily humdrum existence? Don't many of us long for some break from it, but are trapped in our daily lives due to various factors such as family, money, comfort, or sheer plain laziness in breaking free from our chains? Do we not, at many times, suppress our professional fears and carry on with the job as if nothing is wrong? Are we not scared about the permanence of our jobs at some point or other, especially in these times of faster cycles of recession? Looking at the novel and current life, nothing actually seems to have changed for the so-called 'Modern Man' in the last 30 - 40 years since the novel was first published. The question of what happened in Slocum's life that made him the man he is today could also be asked of any of us, but as in the novel, I'm not sure if we could answer that clearly.

My father gave me this book many years ago, and his review consisted of just two words: "Nothing Happened."

While this assessment isn't entirely fair, it's true that the book doesn't have a traditional linear plot.

The narrator is highly unreliable, constantly leading the reader astray in every possible way.

Moreover, as nearly everyone who has read it attests, the book is overly long, perhaps even indulgently so.

Yet, despite all these flaws, I'm still glad I read it.

There is a certain allure to its darkness, a quality that keeps pulling me back.

It's a book that lingers in the mind, even after the final page has been turned.

Maybe it's the very fact that it defies expectations and norms that makes it so compelling.

Or perhaps it's the way it forces the reader to grapple with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the human experience.

Whatever the reason, this book has left an indelible mark on me, and I suspect it will continue to do so for years to come.

This book is truly remarkable. It is a literary masterpiece that combines elements of brilliance, scathing criticism, devastating tragedy, and hilarious humor.

The story unfolds in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat, with unexpected twists and turns at every corner.

The characters are vividly drawn, and you can't help but become emotionally invested in their lives.

And then there's the ending. Oh, the ending! It is perhaps the most heart-wrenching conclusion that you'll ever encounter in a novel.

It will leave you in tears, yet at the same time, it will make you think deeply about the human condition.

For all these reasons, this book is my top pick for a great modern American novel. It is a must-read for anyone who loves literature and wants to experience a truly unforgettable story.

I have a deep affection for stream of consciousness books. In these kinds of works, essentially nothing occurs in the traditional sense, and instead, you find yourself completely immersed in the mind of the main character.

This particular book, however, did have a tendency to feel a bit long-winded at times. There were moments when I had to really push myself to keep going.

Given that it is titled "Something Happened", one might expect there to be twists, turns, or shocking pivotal moments. But that's not the case. Instead, you are simply inside the head of a middle-aged man who despises his life.

The narrative constantly shifts back and forth between the present and his past recollections. Through this, you gradually come to understand the reasons why he is the way he is - miserable and sad.

It's a unique reading experience that requires patience and an open mind to truly appreciate the depth of the character's inner world.

Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five" features a protagonist abducted by four-dimensional aliens. They experience life's every moment simultaneously, and their literature consists of tableaux. Each describes a simple situation or seemingly trivial event, but together they create a beautiful, surprising, and deep image of life. The common belief is that this refers to the novel itself. However, I suspect Vonnegut might have been inspired by his friend Joe Heller's early works.

"Something Happened" came out five years later. Like Heller's later novels but unlike "Catch-22," it's written in the first person by an unhappy father. The unhappiness stems from a mix of neuroses, personality traits, and unfulfilled expectations. The narrator, Bob Slocum, is a racist, narcissistic business executive. He's fed up with sexual promiscuity but can't tell his wife he loves her. He wants to communicate with his rebellious daughter but criticizes her patronizingly. He wishes his disabled son dead but feels guilty. His narcissism wants people to depend on him, but he hates the responsibility. The only exception is his other son, onto whom he projects his insecurities and regrets.
Heller/Slocum analyzes these psychological conflicts with ironic realism and objectivity. Slocum knows he's a racist but doesn't know how to change. He wants to divorce his wife but also knows he can help her. He's a rationalist trapped in his own irrationality.
On another level, this 1974 novel criticizes the American middle class and its attempts to reconcile puritanism with consumerism. The family, once a great invention of agricultural societies, has become enslaved to the corporation.
Finally, unlike "Catch-22," this is a pessimistic novel. While the former ends with the realization of a way out of war, here we're stuck at a dead end in life, with doors closing, hopes dying, and demons haunting us.