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Now and Then
Joseph Heller Book Review

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Plot Summary of Now and Then
"Now and Then is Joseph Heller's life in words. He talks about his early days in Coney Island as a Jewish boy. He also talks about his service in World War II and the many people who inspired his best-selling book, Catch-22. It tells the wonderful story of his life from beginning to end."
Ali, Resident Scholar

"Heller looks back on his life -- mostly, his childhood in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn among a melange of other ethnic immigrants and religions. Although the film touches on his work as a blacksmith assistant in the Navy Yards in Virginia, then service in World War II, and some lessons of psychotheraphy, this memoir is mostly about his family and youth: calm, accepting, and generous."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Now and Then
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Ethnic/Relig. of subject (inside) - Jew
Ethnic/regional/gender Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1950+

Subject of Biography
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 60's-90's
Biography of famous person? Yes
Ethnicity - Jew
Nationality - American (!)
How sensitive is this person? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other people - Very much smarter than other people
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
City? Yes
City: - New York
Misc setting - fort/military installation
Century: - 1930's-1950's

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment - moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel? - very happy - thoughtful
Is book humorous? Yes
Commentary on society? Yes
Commentary on - decency - dying - religion
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards
Writer's slant towards subject: - very favorable - favorable
Story of entire life, or part? - story of nearly entire life - story of set of events during life
Is this a biography of several people? Yes
Autobiography? Yes
Pictures/Illustrations? - None
How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog
A LOT of info about personal vices? Yes
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 0-25% of book
How much is philosophy rather than life story? - 0-25% of book
Most similar books to Now and Then
Hello America by Livia Bitton-Jackson
Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally
Jew Be or Not Jew Be: The Story of a Perpetual Alien by Peter J. Oszmann
Dreaming of Hitler by Daphne Merkin
Recollections: An Autobiography by Viktor E. Frankl by Viktor E. Frankl


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Joseph Heller Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
David Loftus  

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