11/22/63 "the work of a master craftsman" but commented that "the wires go slack from time to time" and the book wanders from genre to genre, particularly in the middle. More pointedly, "Los Angeles Times" book critic David Ulin called the novel "a misguided effort in story and writing"; Ulin's primary criticism is the conceit of the story, which requires the reader to follow two plotlines simultaneously – historical fiction built upon the Kennedy assassination as well as the tale of a time traveling English teacher – which adds a page load to the novel that Ulin found excessive. On September
Picture This (novel) Picture This (novel) Picture This is a 1988 novel from Joseph Heller, the satiric author of the acclaimed "Catch-22". The novel is an eclectic historical journey across multiple periods of history, all connected by a single painting: Rembrandt van Rijn's "Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer". The work jumps from the golden age of Athens, to 17th Century Holland, to the rise of the American Empire; hopscotching from Aristotle, to Rembrandt, to Socrates, and back to Heller and even Jimmy Carter. It examines fundamental dichotomies in human existence under the guise of satire. Like in Heller's version of King David's