No Laughing Matter

by Joseph Heller, Speed Vogel

Chronicles Heller's bout with Guillain-Barre syndrome, and portrays the camaraderie of such friends as Speed Vogel, Mel Brooks, Mario Puzo, and Dustin Hoffmann

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Classics, Biography Memoir, Humor, Literature

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 3, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Joseph Heller was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel Catch-22, a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice. He was nominated in 1972 for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Reviews

[Roberto Scarlato · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Joseph Heller's Catch-22, I can already tell you that this book has his trademark wit. But, at its core, it is a very serious examination of a debilitating and often sudden disorder. Similar to Lou Gehrig or Parkinson's, Guillain–Barré syndrome is a neurological disorder which paralyzes the body.

Heller, at the time, was jogging when suddenly he had to be admitted to the hospital. Helpless, he waits for constant care and reports on his physical condition over the course of the book, he gains moments where he can move slightly. It is a long and tedious process and Heller often comments on the difficulties as well as the many procedures he endured.

On top of that, he was in the middle of writing his 4th novel, "God Knows" and was in the process of a messy divorce.

Many famous faces come to offer help and high morale. Among those are Mel Brooks, Mario Puzo, Dustin Hoffman. The book alternates chapters between Joseph and his writing friend, Speed Vogel.

It is a good, educational look at recovery, sometimes funny but other times hard to get through because of the condition's depressing confinement. But, it also offers hope.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't a story about Guillain Barre Syndrome, a still-mysterious disease that abruptly struck Heller and for a while turned him into a totally dependent and frightened person. It's a story - told by Heller and his longtime friend Speed Vogel - about friendship, human frailty, and the occasional triumph of laughter. If you're a Heller fan, you'll find this fascinating on a number of levels. If you've never read any Heller - well, hey, what are you waiting for? Start with Catch-22.

[Charlotte]

Joesph Heller, the author of Catch-22, was hospitalized for months with a rare autoimmune condition called Guillian-Barre Syndrome, in which the victim becomes paralyzed for days, weeks, or longer, and this is the story of his illness and recovery. It's actually co-written with a buddy of his, Speed Vogel, so each chapter alternates points of view. I was drawn to this book because I had Guillain-Barre five years ago and I find myself feeling, somehow, that I still have unfinished business but no one I know has experienced anything similar. Well, guess what? Other people's illness is boring. And disgusting. Or maybe it's just Heller, who kvetches about his sputum on every god damned page. He also congratulates himself on his fabulous physique (he's a geezer), denigrates women at every opportunity, and name drops to an embarrassing extent. Mel (Brooks) and Marlon (Brando) and Dustin (Hoffman), to name a few. The only interesting part of it was a sense of being taken on a tour of old Hollywood by a grumpy mensch. Feh! And the friend who co-writes reminds me of Kato Kaelin (remember him? O.J.'s deeply tanned houseguest with the tousled blond hair who got his five minutes of fame at the trial?). Speed gives us every boring detail of his life and neuroses and self-aggrandizing observations, but basically he's a poor kid who sponges off rich movie stars and basks in their reflected glow. Anyway, Heller does absolutely zero in terms of introspection or reflection, but we get a blow-by-blow account of his gallant efforts to spew forth phlegm and his admirable ability to entertain movie stars under duress. He finishes recuperating in the south of France. Let me confess that I skipped about 150 insufferable pages and skipped from page 166 to the end. How could such a drip write Catch-22?

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

In nursing school about a million years ago, I wrote a thesis on Guillain-Barré-Strohl syndrome, and my knowledge of the existence of this book was a key factor in my choice. The book itself did not disappoint. Vogel's and Heller's telling of the latters sickness and recovery from the neurological condition is brutally honest and never shy away from unpleasantness, whether physical or emotional. At the same time a lot of humor and happiness is shared.

[Mary Clouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Heller’s autobiographical account, along with his best friend and caretaker, of his experience suffering through and recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome in the early 1980s. This is a fascinating and at times even humorous story of what it was like for him to go through this experience. If you have ever suffered from this disease, or know someone who has, it will be especially interesting for you. Beyond the description of this disease and how awful it is to go through it, it is fundamentally a tale of a group of friends, in particular, the author and his best friend, and how friendship was the driving force that enabled the recovery.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Heller suffered from a rare disorder toward the end of his life, a disorder so rare I've never heard of it and can't remember how to spell it, hence I'm not typing it here. I don't think he'd care, because this book isn't about his illness or the day it nearly took his life. It's about his recovery, after six months in the hospital, having been sent home on wheels. The book is about his friends, particularly his friend of two decades Speed Vogel, and how those friends lifted him up and helped him during this time. The cast includes Billy Cyrstal, Mel Brooks and surprisingly Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather. It's a rare view into Heller, and it's written with his rare and missed wit. Not soppy and not overly emotional; Heller would have hated that. Insane and touching. That's his magic.

NC

[Shailesh Dhume · Rating 4 out of 5]

A witty and uplifting look at dealing with a crippling disease. It is amazing to read about how Heller manages to keep up his spirit and wit winning over GBS. Also an interesting character sketch of various people close to him. Heller's observations on these sort of side characters is equally entertaining. The book tends to falter a little at the end when Heller diverges into his divorce proceedings. But all in all a really worthwhile read.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a GBS survivor, I was very interested in his story of survival. I just found it difficult to relate to having Dustin Hoffman brushing his teeth, and other name dropping.

But when he reached down into his belly and told me how scared he was (I think once), it felt real.

I gave him 2 stars because survived to tell about it.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

My family is currently dealing with GBS, so I was hoping to find some insight in this book as to what it's like for the patient and what recovery can be like. It just came off as a lot of name dropping by Heller and mediocre writing + an incredibly self-serving attitude by Vogel. The descriptions of Heller's famous friends are the only reason this gets two stars rather than one.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is dated at best. The second-by-second account is tedious and exhausting to fumble through. I myself have encountered GBS, and couldn't even begin to fathom writing very account associated with the illness in this length! Not interesting beyond the first 3 pages at all.....

[Tatiana Jančáriková · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Pred Hellerovou vaznou chorobou si jeho blizki priatelia casto tazkali na jeho mimoriadnu netrpezlivost, hrubost, necitlivost, neuprimnost, negativizmus a celkovu nevrlost. (...) Ked sa u Joa objavil Guillain-Barreho syndrom, jeho spravanie sa vo vsetkych smeroch badatelne zlepsilo, takze my, jeho priatelia, sme zacali uvazovat, ako by sme mu mohli nainfikovat dalsiu vaznu chorobu, az sa z tejto vystrabi a zasa bude ako predtym. Este vzdy o tom rozmyslam pre vlastne dobro rovnako ako pre dobro ludstva."

Chcelo sa mi este chvilu pobudnut v Hellerovej spolocnosti. Nebolo mi do smiechu je memoar z obdobia, ked dostal Guillain-Barreho syndrom, autoimunne ochorenie neznameho povodu s rychlym nastupom, ktore vedie k odumieraniu nervovych vlakien a ochrnutiu celeho tela. Vacsina pacientov konci pre ochrnutie pluc na umelej plucnej ventilacii (Heller sa tomu vyhol), no mnohi sa v priebehu niekolkych mesiacov vyliecia.

Podobne ako hrdina Hlavy 22 Yossarian aj Heller travi cas na lozku, okukuje sestricky a do kazdej sa okamzite zalubi. Tym sa vsak podobnost s jeho najznamejsou knihou konci. Nebolo mi do smiechu skutocne nie je velmi do smiechu. Je vycerpavajuco podrobna, navyse opis kazdej situacie citame z dvoch stran - striedaju sa kapitoly napisane Hellerom a kapitoly napisane jeho priatelom, maliarom a socharom Speedom Vogelom.

Goodreads recenzie su plne sklamanych ludi, ktori mali tuto chorobu a knihu si kupili v nadeji, ze dostanu o nej podrobne medicinske informacie. Pre mna to bol zaujimavy pohlad aktivneho a slavneho cloveka, ktory sa zrazu ocitne odkazany na druhych. Trochu menej name-droppingu, aky slavny kamarat ci kamoska ho v nemocnici navstivili by vsak neuskodilo.

2,5* z 5, vhodne najma pre skalnych Hellerovych fanusikov a fanusicky.

[Marlee Pinsker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved No Laughing Matter by Joseph Heller and Speed Vogel! I loved the way they tossed the book back and forth to each other, alternating chapters until they finally just threw dissenting paragraphs into the middle of each other's narratives. I read part of it out loud to my husband, and he laughed too. Altho a book about a dire illness, it had so much enjoyment of life in it. One very frightening thing that was mentioned was the insinuation of the idea that you could get this illness more than once. I found that devastating and so did Joseph Heller. He begged the person who told him to stop talking. As a person who has been through a divorce, I loved his descriptions of the lawyers' antics, and at the end, he adds up the amount he spent. I could see it. I loved the descriptions of the Gourmets' Club which he and his friends were part of. It was so funny to think that in THEIR world, the person with the biggest appetite reigned supreme. I could have been a contender!

Did you see that someone in a review said he didn't like this book because it was "too Jewish"? Who would write something like that? How insensitive and hurtful! And what, exactly, were they referring to?

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's the weird part. Joseph Heller, one of the most prominent American novelists of the twentieth century, had a close friendship with every "airport novelist" in America, from Mario Puzo (they shared the same literary agent, Candida), Irving Wallace, and Eric Seagal, plus every Jewish comic man in show biz, from Mel Brooks to Woody Allen. (Heller once said CATCH-22 was a "Jewish joke novel, in the tradition of Henny Youngman.) These friendships came in handy when he suffered first divorce from his wife of over thirty years and then a devastating illness that nearly left him paralyzed for life. NO LAUGHING MATTER really is full of jokes and literary name-dropping at its finest.

[Rod Van Meter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this back when it first came out. Reread about half of it, skipping around, when a family member came down with Guillain-Barre Syndrome in August 2021. Treatment has changed in some important ways, but remains the same at its core. I found it of some solace as we are working through it as a family, but the stories of the Gourmet Club, before Heller was afflicted, are the funniest parts.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I too had Guillain-Barré Syndrome back when I was much younger. Reading this book definitely made me feel a little less alone when I had it! Interesting to read someone else's take on how it affected them, because having it SUCKED BISCUITS.

[Diane Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring

Seemed interesting in the beginning but got really boring. Rich, famous people don't really suffer - moral of the story. And heller was a sexist pig.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

C+. nonfiction, autobiography; Gilles-Barre Syndrome; follows Hellers journey through illness

[Vincent Darkhelm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extraordinarily boring. The parts written by Speed Vogel are by far the best thing about it. Which I find intriguing.

[Roni · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Joseph Heller, but the co-author of No Laughing Matter, Speed Vogel, is not a good writer. It seems this book was his idea and Heller just went along with it. The book felt like a list of stuff that happened after Heller was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. The reader gets a peek into Heller's private life, so it's fun to see famous characters pop in and out of the book. And, yes, Heller is heroic in his battle against his disease. But that alone didn't make it a good book.

[Peterboh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the title, the book is fairly entertaining. I found it very interesting to learn something about the personal life of my favorite author Heller. He is also a good friend of my other favorite author, Mario Puzo, about whom there are some interesting stories as well. Must read for a Heller fan.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read, though not quite as engaging as Heller's fiction. It loses a bit of focus towards the end; the chapters dealing with his legal struggles with his wife are a bit incongruous to the rest of the story. All in all, though, this is a darkly humorous and harrowing account of Heller's illness and eventual recovery.

[Alana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book captures the monotony of months in the hospital. While I would never demean the psychological impact of such of an experience, or the friendship at the heart of this book, it also doesn't make for exciting reading.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

His journey with Guillain-Barre syndrome. A fascinating, disciplined, heartbreaking personal observation. After it totally paralyzed him, he ended up marrying his nurse!

[Valarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet story about friendship. I enjoyed it very much.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A non-fiction telling of Heller's affliction with GBS. A compelling read.

[Afshin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I doubt anyone without a direct GBS experience, either as a patient or caregiver, would enjoy reading this book. I also thought it was too long.

[Jeremy Fleischman]

patricia's reading it, not sure if i'd like it

[Patricia Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-reading this during May, GBS Awareness Month.

[Sneh Pradhan]

Refined and elegant, easy-to-read writing as we can expect from Heller , though the content in itself is tedious and exhausting to ramble through !