usually age-related illnesses, in particular cancer rather than dying in battle, as with its predecessor. One notable inconsistency in the book is that although Yossarian was 28 in Catch-22, which took place in 1944, in Closing Time Yossarian is 68, and the time of Catch-22 is referred to as "50 years ago". When asked about the inconsistency in an interview with The New York Times, Heller replied, "I know, but I decided to ignore it."

There is a man mentioned by Lew named "Vonnegut", whom he