Good as Gold

Infobox Book |
name = Good As Gold
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Joseph Heller
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Comedy novel
publisher = Simon and Schuster
release_date = 1979
media_type = Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
pages = 447 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-671-22923-0 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by = Something Happened
followed_by = God Knows

"Good as Gold" is a 1979 novel by Joseph Heller, author of "Catch-22".

Plot introduction

Bruce Gold, a Jewish, middle-aged English university professor and author of many unread, seminal articles in small journals, residing in Manhattan, is offered the chance for success, fame and fortune in Washington D.C. as the country's "first ever" Jewish Secretary of State. But, he must face the consequences of this, such as divorcing his wife and alienating his family, the thought of which energizes him and makes him cringe at the same time. Furthermore, he's faced with the task of writing about the Jewish experience in America, but isn't sure he's lived it and thus has to figure out what it is, not knowing that he was invariably going to describe his own life.

Literary significance & criticism

The novel is well regarded by fans and critics alike, viewed as a return to the gag and verbal play that Heller established in "Catch-22" and abandoned in the name of the scathing sarcasm and the darker story in "Something Happened". It's a much brighter story than his previous one with a slightly happier ending for the protagonist, whereas the predecessor is about the loss of optimism and hope. Having disposed in this way of the army in "Catch-22" and the corporation in "Something Happened", Heller in "Good as Gold" now took on the American government in similar terms.