''Closing Time'' is a 1994

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Joseph Heller Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel ''Catch-22'', a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for ...

, written as a sequel to his popular 1961 novel ''

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chr ...

''. It takes place in New York City in the 1990s and revisits some characters of the original, including

Yossarian :''Also covered in this article are the characters Snowden and Yossarian's tentmates.'' Capt. John Yossarian is a fictional character, the protagonist of Joseph Heller's satirical 1961 novel ''Catch-22'' and its 1994 sequel '' Closing Time''. ...

Milo Minderbinder First Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's 1961 novel, ''Catch-22''. As the mess officer of Yossarian's squadron, Minderbinder is an entrepreneur during World War II, "perhaps the best known of all fictional bus ...

, and

Chaplain Tappman Chaplain Captain Albert Taylor Tappman (A.T. Tappman) (usually referred to as "the Chaplain") is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's 1961 novel ''Catch-22'' and its 1994 sequel '' Closing Time''. In earlier editions he was called Chaplain Ro ...

. The book has two stories that are interwoven throughout: that of Yossarian in the last stages of his life, and that of Sammy Singer and Lew Rabinowitz, two men from

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

who also fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(the Sammy Singer character makes a brief appearance in ''Catch-22'' as the tailgunner aboard Yossarian's bomber who kept waking up and fainting when he saw Yossarian trying to attend to the wounds of Snowden). As with ''Catch-22'', the topic of death is omnipresent, only in this case from usually age-related illnesses, in particular cancer rather than dying in battle, as with its predecessor. One notable inconsistency in the book is that although Yossarian was 28 in ''Catch-22'', which took place in 1944, in ''Closing Time'' Yossarian is 68, and the time of ''Catch-22'' is referred to as "50 years ago". When asked about the inconsistency in an interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Heller replied, "I know, but I decided to ignore it." There is a man mentioned by Lew named "Vonnegut", whom he met while in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. This is a reference to

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

's experiences in the

Bombing of Dresden The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the Roya ...

and his book ''

Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to h ...

''. A character named Joey Heller is also mentioned who, like the author, was a bombardier during the Second World War and suffers from

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain often ...

Plot

References

1994 American novels American comedy novels American satirical novels Catch-22 Novels by Joseph Heller Novels set in New York City Sequel novels Simon & Schuster books {{1990s-satirical-novel-stub