Good as Gold

Good as Gold is a 1979 novel by Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22. Bruce Gold, a Jewish, middle-aged university English professor and author of many unread, seminal articles in small journals, residing in Manhattan, is offered the chance for success, fame and fortune in Washington D.C. as the country's first ever Jewish Secretary of State. But, he must face the consequences of this, such as divorcing his wife and alienating his family, the though... more

Good as Gold is a 1979 novel by Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22. Bruce Gold, a Jewish, middle-aged university English professor and author of many unread, seminal articles in small journals, residing in Manhattan, is offered the chance for success, fame and fortune in Washington D.C. as the country's first ever Jewish Secretary of State. But, he must face the consequences of this, such as divorcing his wife and alienating his family, the thought of which energizes him and makes him cringe at the same time. Furthermore, he's faced with the task of writing about the Jewish experience in America, but isn't sure he's lived it and thus has to figure out what it is, not knowing that he was invariably going to describe his own life. The novel is well regarded by fans and critics alike, viewed as a return to the gag and verbal play that Heller established in Catch-22 and abandoned in the name of the scathing sarcasm and the darker story in Something Happened. It's a much brighter story than... less