Yossarian Slept Here

This incisive, funny, sardonic memoir by the daughter of CATCH-22 author Joseph Heller has its poignancy compromised by Karen White's overly sweet narration style. The author's father was brilliant, eccentric, and stubborn--and here the doors to her memories of family are thrown open for all to enjoy. Interactions with Balanchine, Poitier, Brooks, Mostel, and others are memorably written. The audiobook would have benefited from White's assuming a greater vocal range. Despite her precise diction and phrasing, her repetitive intonations engage the listener only in moments. Nonetheless, for those with an interest in Joseph Heller, this is a must-listen as the details on his family and life experiences provide insights into how his life influenced his prize-winning writing. W.A.G. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

July 4, 2011
In addition to his novels, short stories, plays, and, screenplays, Joseph Heller (1923â1999) wrote two memoirs. Now it's his daughter's turn, looking back at her youth when her father found fame. She begins in 1945 when her parents met in the Catskills ("the Jewish Alps"), married, and moved into a grand Upper West Side apartment building, the Apthorp, Erica's evocative memory dwells on her hot butterscotch sundaes among the ladies who lunched in the splendiferous Schrafft's. She recalls 1953, when her father began writing Catch-22, and how publication nine years later changed their lives. Among many homey revelations are Heller's terrible taste in clothes (his wife dressed him), and his comments on Erica's novel Splinters ("Not as bad as I expected"). With wit punctuating lambent nostalgia, she brings her father to life in an animated, absorbing fashion, documenting his quirky habits, celebrity, and "invisible, unfathomable inner cycle," but also her parents' divorce and Heller's suffering with Guillain-Barré syndrome. The total effect is akin to leafing through a bulging family scrapbook where one finds a few blurry images among many snapshots in sharp focus. Erica Heller has inherited her father's finely tuned flair with words. 31 b&w photos.