Good as Gold

Good As Gold

First edition cover
Author	Joseph Heller
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Comedy novel
Publisher	Simon and Schuster
Publication date	1979
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	447 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-671-22923-0 (first edition, hardback)
Preceded by	Something Happened
Followed by	God Knows

Good as Gold is a 1979 novel by Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22.

Plot introduction

Bruce Gold, a Jewish, middle-aged English university 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.

Literary significance & criticism

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 his previous one with a somewhat more happy ending for the protagonist, whereas the predecessor is about the loss of optimism and hope. Having disposed in this way of the army in Catch-22 and the corporation in Something Happened, Heller in Good as Gold now took on the American government in similar terms.

Parody Episode

Using PRZ Episode