Rating: 
Summary: poignant last words
Review: Although Heller's trademark irony, self-effacing sarcasm and appreciation of the absurd are rife throughout the novel, "Portrait" is a radical departure from his previous work. A biographical account of a writer penning what he hopes will be his final masterpiece, the protagonist (obviously Heller himself) fears the inevitable descent into mediocrity. The book, unfortunately, is indeed solidly mediocre in both prose and plot, but is imbued with a certain sadness and poignancy. Fans of "Catch 22" should not expect a sequel in any form, but diehard Heller fans will nonetheless appreciate his literary swan song, which throws this private author into sharper relief than any of his other novels.
Rating:
Summary: A sad and amusing look at the life of a once-great writer
Review: Eugene Pota (Portrait Of The Artist) is an aging (75-year-old) novelist hoping to produce one more masterpiece to cap his flagging career in this peculiar book from (then) aging novelist Joseph Heller. The novel alternates details of Pota's quiet, melancholy existence with the text of various false starts he makes on the upcoming opus. Of course it surprises no one when Pota's novel proves to be the very one in the reader's hands. Readers are treated to false starts on such works as "Hera", "God's Wife", and the provocatively titled "A Sexual Biography of My Wife". None of these are ever completed, or even more than fairly begun before the author is overcome by despair, disgust, or technical problems. Pota's fascination with women and sex clearly influences all of his attempts, but his safe, comfortable life doesn't provide much inspiration. So why does our protagonist go on writing at all? What else is there for him to do?Heller takes pains to show his (fictional) author warts and all, which keeps the book from falling into sappy sentimentality, but one questions just how autobiographical the portrait really is. As to the story-of-how-the-story-was-written plot, it succeeds more as a primer in the travails of the literary life than as a tour-de-force of radical technique. It's easy to see why the various unfinished pieces were abandoned, since none of them show any real glimmer of promise, and aside from the occasional humorous moments, most are a waste of time to read. That being the case, this book is recommended only for those who are dedicated devotees of the author, or have always longed to know what it's like to be a writer. Others will find little of interest here.
Rating: 
Summary: A writer's last tale
Review: It's somehow unsurprising that "Portrait of an Artist As An Old Man" was Joseph Heller's final novel. It feels like a final novel, both autobiographical and a musing about the art of writing. People who haven't tried to write probably won't appreciate this odd little novel as much as those who have. Eugene Pota is a well-known author who produced an immensely successful modern classic many years ago. Though his books since then have been critical and monetary successes, all of them have been compared to that first book. Now, in his mid-seventies, Eugene reflects on the changing literary world and wants to write a mega-success, a fantastic book that will be loved and appreciated and possibly made into a movie. That's a pretty tall order. So he begins writing various books, such as the Biblical parody "God's Wife," a book about Greek legends from the goddess Hera's point of view, a parody of "Tom Sawyer," and a novel about a husband viewing his wife's "transgressions." All of them don't quite work out... Exactly how much of this book is autobiographical isn't clear -- between the witty final line and the stuff about Coney Island and "God Knows," it's clear that much of Pota is actually Heller. One thing that Heller did in this book (besides homage himself) is reflect on the authors who have gone before him. There are lots of references to Henry James, Mark Twain, Jack London, and plenty of others; at the same time, he mulls over the tragic qualities of their lives. (The aborted "Tom Sawyer" parody includes Tom going around looking for them) This book, technically, is not about writer's block; rather it's about the frustration of feeling required to top yourself, and of a basic lack of inspiration. Not being able to write in the middle of a book is bad enough. But it's even worse when you have trouble just figuring out what you want to start out with. Eugene's dogged attempts to do the impossible -- to top himself -- are pleasant to read about. His writing is funny and insightful, but occasionally becomes a bit self-indulgent. And I wasn't sure what to make about the passages about Polly, Pota's wife. Meaning, I wasn't sure if she was based on his actual last wife and whether he was frustrated with her. Some witty dialogue, amusing false starts and some genuinely poignant soul-baring fill this book. It's a shame the "Old Man" passed away before it was even published.
Rating:
Summary: A writer's last tale
Review: It's somehow unsurprising that "Portrait of an Artist As An Old Man" was Joseph Heller's final novel. It feels like a final novel, both autobiographical and a musing about the art of writing. People who haven't tried to write probably won't appreciate this odd little novel as much as those who have. Eugene Pota is a well-known author who produced an immensely successful modern classic many years ago. Though his books since then have been critical and monetary successes, all of them have been compared to that first book. Now, in his mid-seventies, Eugene reflects on the changing literary world and wants to write a mega-success, a fantastic book that will be loved and appreciated and possibly made into a movie. That's a pretty tall order. So he begins writing various books, such as the Biblical parody "God's Wife," a book about Greek legends from the goddess Hera's point of view, a parody of "Tom Sawyer," and a novel about a husband viewing his wife's "transgressions." All of them don't quite work out... Exactly how much of this book is autobiographical isn't clear -- between the witty final line and the stuff about Coney Island and "God Knows," it's clear that much of Pota is actually Heller. One thing that Heller did in this book (besides homage himself) is reflect on the authors who have gone before him. There are lots of references to Henry James, Mark Twain, Jack London, and plenty of others; at the same time, he mulls over the tragic qualities of their lives. (The aborted "Tom Sawyer" parody includes Tom going around looking for them) This book, technically, is not about writer's block; rather it's about the frustration of feeling required to top yourself, and of a basic lack of inspiration. Not being able to write in the middle of a book is bad enough. But it's even worse when you have trouble just figuring out what you want to start out with. Eugene's dogged attempts to do the impossible -- to top himself -- are pleasant to read about. His writing is funny and insightful, but occasionally becomes a bit self-indulgent. And I wasn't sure what to make about the passages about Polly, Pota's wife. Meaning, I wasn't sure if she was based on his actual last wife and whether he was frustrated with her. Some witty dialogue, amusing false starts and some genuinely poignant soul-baring fill this book. It's a shame the "Old Man" passed away before it was even published.
Rating:
Summary: Portrait Of The Writer's Block
Review: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST, AS AN OLD MAN (there seems to be some confusion over the title as the hardback reads AN ARTIST, while the paperback and the narrative goes with THE ARTIST) is one of the most fragmented and disjointed books that I've ever read. Given that this was a volume based upon a writer struggling in the clutches of the dreaded Writer's Block, this disorganization failed to surprise me. I enjoyed the book far more than I thought I would given the amount of reviews that emphasized the mental frustrations. And while a significant number of pages are dedicated to aborted novels, they don't totally dominate the entirety. Yes, on the surface, the book is a flimsy narrative stringing together numerous and seemingly random ideas. On the other hand, as with most of Heller's writings, there is method to this madness and I found the complete story to be quite rewarding. The fictional life of the narrator is threaded inside the various stories that he begins and abandons during the course of the book. Presumably, Joseph Heller was doing something similar in putting aspects of his own life inside this book, and it's difficult to tell where one can draw the line between fiction and reality. This was a hallmark of some of Heller's previous works, so fans of his wit will no doubt enjoy the elusive qualities of the fiction as much as I did. It's amusing to catch references inside the fragmented stories to others in the collection, as well as allusions to the life of the narrator and to the work and life of Heller himself. I found myself having to mentally pause while absorbing the book to figure out if a detail that I had just read was something out of the fictional author's life, the actual author's life, or something that was completely new. I found it amusing to try to keep all of the various facts together. Although overall the story moved very quickly, I felt that there were a few portions that dragged. The majority of the fractional stories are interesting, but there are a few that stick out as being tedious, unworkable and flat. It's occasionally hit and miss, though one suspects that this is the point of including them all. Some story seeds seem to have potential while others are a waste of time, and it's up to the author to sort the gems from the trash. Unfortunately, while this may give one an insight into the mind of a writer, it doesn't always yield material that one would want to sit down and read about. While being a far cry from Heller's more dense novels, PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS AN OLD MAN does exactly what it sets out to do. It's the bittersweet, final novel from someone who always had something interesting to say, even if he didn't always know what to say next. One can easily picture Joseph Heller as the cranky, cantankerous old writer looking for one final great masterpiece. While this book isn't the brilliant work of genius that the fictional writer was aspiring to, it is an interesting look at the search for inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: ". . .if they only knew."
Review: Reading A Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man is like reading about a tragic greek hero or, even better, Hegel's attempt to create the final philosophy. It is in this narrative that Heller delineates the inevitable anticlimactic end of literary creators and how one author, Eugene Pota, manages to elude it temporarily by recognizing and celebrating it. The overwhelming sense of nothingness brought on by the linear-ness of western philosophy becomes disturbingly conspicuous as the story unfolds. A satire on the Sisyphian spirit and a lyrical overcoming of fate, this book is also intriguing in it's structure: a deliberate polar opposite of Joyce's work. Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man should not be read as dionysian ramblings of a senile man nor as some pathetic attempt to portray the pathetic attempts of an aging writer experiencing writer's block. Rather, it should be viewed as a piece of art true to both form and function though not as true as his Catch-22.
Rating:
Summary: Comical, confusing and worthwile.
Review: The final book in the career of Joseph Heller is a fine tale. The protagonists plight is having to live up to past glory. Eugene Pota is trying in his twilight years to write a novel that will appeal to the masses and "be a Hollywood movie". Pota's career began with great acclaim and success, but he subsequent novels have fallen into the category of good or "not one of his best". As he flips back an forth from writing this novel to complaining about not being able to write it and just living you can get lost in the action. The book so closely parallels what one would believe to be Hellers own career. Catch-22 to ... well, everything else, books that may have been best sellers, but no one remembers now, unless you are a fan of Heller. These closes parallels tend haze parts of the novel, however it all comes together on the last page, it makes you wonder if this was a narration of what Heller himself went through to write this, his last novel. I found the book to be fast paced, comical and memorable. A fine way to spend an evening or two. Thanx for your time, T
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty lame
Review: There is no way this novel was finished or intended for publication. There is no point to discussing it, since it is just plain awful. The only other explaination I can think of is that Heller was become feable in old age. I felt embarrassment while reading this, embarrassment for the author's good name.
Rating: 
Summary: A remarkable testament.
Review: This has to be one of the most honest, forthright, and revealing books I have ever read. It should be read by every writer -- and every artist -- to get a glimpse of what might lie ahead.
Rating:
Summary: A Catch-22 of Another Color
Review: This novel is about the only reasonable way that Joseph Heller could have closed the book on his tumultuous and probably very frustrating career. Being cursed with the blessing of having his very first book, Catch-22, hailed as a literary masterpiece still read by high school juniors everywhere, there was no real way to eclipse his initial offering. When you start at the top, the only place to go is down, and with each successive book, this became painfully apparent. Even his decades later sequel, Closing Time, fell very flat and very far short of Catch-22.
So I was very surprised and very pleased when his final book, Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man, turned out to be vibrant and refreshing and about as good as it gets. It is a frank and honest thinly veiled autobiography about the joys and terrors of being a writer of some acclaim who seems to have run out of steam. The false starts and stops of what this book could have been make the novel even more enticing. Resistant to the idea given by his editor of writing about the process of writing, Eugene Pota is trying to end his career with a grand magnum opus on par with Tom Sawyer or The Odyssey or even a scandalous book about his wife's sex life. And aren't we lucky that he ditched all of those ideas and brought us this rare treat instead. An original work about a writer trying to figure out what to write about.
It is short, it is original and it is a very good read. Bravo on such a courageous choice to close the book on a career that started out with one of the best novels written in the English (or any other) language.
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