One famous
review of this book consisted of two words: "
Nothing happened."
Something Happened is a dense book filled with long, twisty sentences. It may be a masterpiece inside, but the odds were against it being a hit. Joseph Heller hadn't written a book since the 1961 smash-hit Catch-22, making S.H. a very long-awaited sophomore effort with a lot to live up to. When it finally came out, in 1974, it must have been a shock to readers. Gone was the clever, interlocking satire and wit of Catch-22, replaced by something more challenging. S.H. has no plot in the traditional sense; it's simply the narrator's reflections on his life.
Quick summary from the Pegasos literature site, http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/heller.htm:
"It portrayed a corporation man, Bob Slocum, who lives in a world where everyone is permanently afraid of someone else. Slocum does not share Yossarian's rebelliousness but cynically resigns himself to a success he secretly despises."
I must admit, I've never tried reading S.H., although it's said to be immensely rewarding. The follow-up, Good as Gold, is an easier read, a wimpy clone of Catch-22.