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A review by slucyd
God Knows by Joseph Heller
3.0
Guys this book! Whew. OK so, backstory. I’ve read no Joseph Heller at all before this but my husband has read Good as Gold, Closing Time and Catch-22, all of which he enjoyed. So he bought this during our mega pre-Honeymoon Waterstones shopping trip. Towards the end of our holiday he complained that I’d managed to read so much more than him and decided that he’d choose my next read. This isn’t really something I’d choose for myself at all and if I were to read a Heller I probably would have gone for Catch-22. Anyway, long story short he was delighted to see that this slowed me right down. Like, right down Our Honeymoon was in November and I just finished reading God Knows two days okay. With other books on the side but still. Still! So. Yeah. It was a toughie.
I finished reading to the end partly because I don’t really like to leave books unfinished, but also because, surprisingly, I didn’t hate it. I definitely didn’t love it but there’s a lot to enjoy. Essentially, it’s the biblical King David telling the story of his life from his deathbed. Most of the book is addressed directly to the reader in King David’s voice. At times this voice is funny, retelling moments from the Bible with added digs, fleshed out characterisations and odd anachronisms. There are also conversations with a cast of characters ranging from his sons to Bathsheba and King Saul. Sometimes it felt a little like a humorous introduction to the Bible (apparently, specifically Samuel I and II) and I think it would make it easier for me to access it in the future.
After I’d finished reading I looked through a few previous reviews for the novel and discovered that generally, for people more familiar with the Biblical tales, the humour really hits home and it’s a hilarious and enjoyable read. For me personally it was extremely repetitive. While the tales of battles, Kings dethroned and arguments with God were interesting, they were revisited to the point of exhaustion. While we move chronologically through the story David also jumps back and forth in time constantly, comparing moments, foreshadowing decisions and griping about individuals. While that might be realistic it made the book feel twice as long as it needed to be.
Ultimately this wasn’t a book I would necessarily go out of my way to recommend to people and it’s one with, in my opinion, some flaws. I enjoyed a lot of it but I felt like I had to work hard to get to those moments. That said, I think there are people for whom this may be a rollocking read!
I finished reading to the end partly because I don’t really like to leave books unfinished, but also because, surprisingly, I didn’t hate it. I definitely didn’t love it but there’s a lot to enjoy. Essentially, it’s the biblical King David telling the story of his life from his deathbed. Most of the book is addressed directly to the reader in King David’s voice. At times this voice is funny, retelling moments from the Bible with added digs, fleshed out characterisations and odd anachronisms. There are also conversations with a cast of characters ranging from his sons to Bathsheba and King Saul. Sometimes it felt a little like a humorous introduction to the Bible (apparently, specifically Samuel I and II) and I think it would make it easier for me to access it in the future.
After I’d finished reading I looked through a few previous reviews for the novel and discovered that generally, for people more familiar with the Biblical tales, the humour really hits home and it’s a hilarious and enjoyable read. For me personally it was extremely repetitive. While the tales of battles, Kings dethroned and arguments with God were interesting, they were revisited to the point of exhaustion. While we move chronologically through the story David also jumps back and forth in time constantly, comparing moments, foreshadowing decisions and griping about individuals. While that might be realistic it made the book feel twice as long as it needed to be.
Ultimately this wasn’t a book I would necessarily go out of my way to recommend to people and it’s one with, in my opinion, some flaws. I enjoyed a lot of it but I felt like I had to work hard to get to those moments. That said, I think there are people for whom this may be a rollocking read!