NOW AND THEN: From Coney Island to Here

How could an ordinary mortal write Catch 22? Or even "Catch 18," the original title? Heller's mortal all right, but not ordinary. Most writers, he says, even successful ones, can't make a living. Heller himself wouldn't leave his magazine job until after the movie sale. Rarely has such a cold eye been cast on life, or on the creative process. If you want to be stirred up, spurred to literary achievement, avoid this book. If you want to know what writers and writing are actually like, you shouldn't miss it. Michael Kramer's reading is exactly suited to the text, informal, intimate and matter-of-fact. B.H.C. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 99]