Something Happened by Joseph Heller (#35, Contemporary Literature)

Apparently everything that happened happened either before page one or after page 560. What I think happened in between was a lot of annoyingness. Yes, that is a pretend word I am going to use.

To give some credit to an amazing author, I can see why the book would be considered read worthy, and I can see what is special about Joseph Heller. But, with that said, I spent over 550 pages reading about a man and his family. A man who regularly cheats on his wife, a man who hates his job, a man who wants to kick his daughter in the shin under the dining room table, a man who constantly wishes his mentally disabled son would disappear.

There was no happy ending, there was certainly no silver lining, I suppose the story could be considered "real" life and some people may relate to it. But thank you very much I do not relate in any way. I have no sympathy for people stuck in unhappy lives. As my roommate and friend Shawn likes to say, "Do something about it." Because that is one of my basic philosophies in life I generally don't enjoy reading books where the characters continue to chase their tail in circles, getting absolutely nowhere.