Joseph Heller
Paperback | Pages: 368 pages Rating: 3.8 | 3245 Users | 196 Reviews
Declare Books In Favor Of God Knows
| Original Title: | God Knows |
| ISBN: | 0684841258 (ISBN13: 9780684841250) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Prix Médicis Etranger (1985) |
Narrative As Books God Knows
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.Describe Containing Books God Knows
| Title | : | God Knows |
| Author | : | Joseph Heller |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 368 pages |
| Published | : | November 12th 1997 by Simon Schuster (first published 1984) |
| Categories | : | Fiction |
Rating Containing Books God Knows
Ratings: 3.8 From 3245 Users | 196 ReviewsEvaluate Containing Books God Knows
An extraordinary novel. It opens with King David as he is described in the First Book of Kings, in the last few days/weeks of life, with his new servant girl, Abishag the Shunammite. The novel has David looking back on his life, but he also knows about the future. Early on he complains about his portrayal in Chronicles:In Chronicles I am a pious bore, as dull as dishwater and as preachy and insipid as that self-righteous Joan of Arc, and God knows I was never anything like that. So, is DavidI thought it was brilliant writing. Joseph Heller writes from the POV of King David of Israel, but in the tone of a 20th century American Jewish man. A word of warning: If you are not familiar with I and II Samuel (Old Testament books), you will be hopelessly lost while reading this.
I was the kid in Sunday school the poor teachers mustve hated: peeking behind the curtain, pulling the strings on our tidy little Bible lessons to go wide-eyed and watch the real, wild Bible go up in flames. I guess its a habit I never outgrew. So there you have me, ever the rebel kid still, relishing the secret that behind all those prettily bow-tied morals are wild kings and bloodbaths and blasphemous sacrilege that no ones paying any mind. And here you have Joseph Heller. Since Catch-22 Ive
The long chapters make for tough reading and one needs to have a good grasp of the Biblical account (1 and 2 Samuel). Nonetheless, this is a worthy fictionalised account of David's life. There is some great humor; the dowry payment for the hand of Saul's daughter Michal is the funniest story in the book.One thing I didn't like: the book indicates Bathsheba's complicity in the great sin that caused her husband's death. I do not feel that the Biblical record indicates any complicity on Bathsheba's
In Joseph Heller's novel "God Knows", the Jewish protagonist is an old man named David, looking back with bittersweet fondness but mostly regret at his turbulent life: numerous marriages, ungrateful children, constant battling with in-laws and relatives, and a God that seems to have either forgotten or forsaken him. It may help to know that the David in the novel is King David, of the biblical account, kvetching on his death bed about what a mess his life has become but mostly because he can't
For the first time in years I didn't finish a book. I was about 100 pages from the end and just could. not. go. on. Heller writes about King David's last days and memories, and it's one long complainfest. There's bits of humor, but for my money I enjoyed Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal written by Christopher Moore much better. You know how the Bible has those long chains of "xx begat xx who begat xx who begat xx"? This is very similar but with "then I went to Giza to
This is written as a fake, warts-and-all autobiography of King David from The Bible. I know Joseph Heller was Jewish, though I have no idea if he was strictly religious, and this book suggests that he at least had a liberal view of the Old Testament.I found the book's interpretations of Biblical events very funny; it portrays King David as petulant and narcissistic, sort of like a combination of characters from two of Heller's other books - Yossarian from Catch-22 and Bob Slocum from Something
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