[August 2018] I don't know if this is the fifth time I've read it or the sixth. Or seventh. Doesn't matter; it might be my last. It's just not as funny when daily we hear of real-life Aarfys, Milos, Cathcarts and Korns and other cockroaches in too-powerful positions.

I will always love this book. Every page has crushing examples of how horrible humans can be; yet every few pages Heller reminds us how kind we can be too. While it's certainly not The Great Novel About The Human Experience—for one, there are no female characters—Heller covers huge swaths of the big ones: courage, cruelty, greed, compassion, blind moronic obedience. (Come to think of it, maybe this is the perfect book for the present republican administration). Most importantly—this is what keeps the reader going—Heller highlights it all with a tone of utter absurdity. Sometimes it's delighted absurdity, sometimes exasperated, but always engaging and thoughtful.

This is an important book; and I don't mean one to have gathering dust on your bookshelf. If you haven't read it, please do.