''Something Happened'' is

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 ...

's second

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", itself ...

(published in 1974, thirteen years after ''

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- ...

''). Its main character and

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

is Bob Slocum, a businessman who engages in a

stream of consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First L ...

narrative about his job, his family, his childhood, his sexual escapades, and his own psyche.

Plot

While there is an ongoing plot about Slocum preparing for a promotion at work, most of the book focuses on detailing various events from his life, ranging from early childhood to his predictions for the future, often in non-chronological order and with little if anything to connect one anecdote to the next. Near the end of the book, Slocum starts worrying about the state of his own sanity as he finds himself hallucinating or remembering events incorrectly, suggesting that some or all of the novel might be the product of his imagination, making him an

unreliable narrator An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in fiction and film, and range from children to mature characters. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in ''The Rhetoric of Fiction''. While unr ...

. ''Something Happened'' has failed to achieve the renown of ''Catch-22'' but has a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

, with some considering it one of Heller's finest works.

Reception

''Something Happened'' has frequently been criticized as overlong, rambling, and deeply unhappy. These sentiments are echoed in a review of the novel by

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 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 ...

, but are balanced with praise for the novel's prose and the meticulous patience Heller took in the creation of the novel, stating, "Is this book any good? Yes. It is splendidly put together and hypnotic to read. It is as clear and hard-edged as a cut diamond. Mr. Heller's concentration and patience are so evident on every page that one can only say that 'Something Happened' is at all points precisely what he hoped it would be." In a contemporary write-up for ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', the reviewer states that "there is none of the rogue absurdism or imaginative verve" of Heller's previous novel, but praises the book's "bravura, expertise and cumulative hook". ''Something Happened'' has since garnered a small base of devoted fans. In 2015, Carmen Petaccio referred to it as the "most criminally overlooked great novel of the past half century ..one of the most pleasurable, engrossing, and in retrospect moving American novels ever written." Naturi Thomas-Millard called it the "best book you've never read"; while agreeing that it is overlong, she billed it as "an invaluable study in how to portray the horror of everyday life." Novelist

Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel ''The Corrections'', a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Pri ...

prefers ''Something Happened'' to ''Catch-22'', and Christopher Buckley referred to the work as "dark and brilliant". Comedian Richard Lewis claims he "happily lost most of ishope" after reading the novel.

References

External links

Kurt Vonnegut on 'Something Happened'
from

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

(1974). {{wikiquote 1974 American novels Novels by Joseph Heller Alfred A. Knopf books Fiction with unreliable narrators Books with cover art by Paul Bacon Bureaucracy in fiction