Catch 22

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Summary: A literary whirlpool.............
Review: Catch-22 is a roiling, boiling, oscillating set of absurdities flung at the reader at breakneck pace. The fictional Italian island of Pianoso serves as the backdrop for Joseph's Heller's satirical skewering of WWII and the American military. The storytelling is nearly manic as a cast of surreal characters strive to survive their military obligations amidst chaotic plots and implausible scenarios.

Somewhat problematically, Catch-22 has been hailed for decades as among the ultimate in anti-war novels. It is beyond question anti-war, but it is also beyond question a work relying so completely on the absurd as to launch it well beyond satire into whimsy. One might think such pacifist acclaim might cling to something more sturdy.

Nevertheless, Catch-22 does have it's heartbreaking moments of war-is-hell horror. I'm not giving anything away by noting that the final description of Snowden's death is emotionally disturbing. These instances, however, are rare. I enjoyed Catch-22 and consumed it quickly. One cannot read this book without developing a fondness for it's protagonist, Captain Yossarian, and a host of other characters far too eccentric to dislike.

In the end, Catch-22 is a worthy reading experience, but I will forever wonder how such a fanciful tale can claim to seriously challenge the notion of national defense, an applied foreign policy, and the U.S. military's role within it.

Rating:
Summary: This book sucks
Review: Catch-22 was a terrible book. It was the worst thing I have ever been forced to read. It should not be taught in schools due to it's terrible language and the way women are depicted in this book. The humor in the book is just retarded and although some parts are kinda funny, you want to kill yourself reading the book before you get to them. I hate this book.

Rating:
Summary: A good read that will make you scratch your head at times...
Review: Catch-22 can be a frustrating novel. I HATE the first 50-100 pages. The names of characters come flying out of nowhere. The circular and contradictory style of writing just annoys me. The nonlinear style annoys me.

I stuck with it, and before you know it, it all comes together. That is the key. If you stick with it and not try to understand every single detail, or read every dialogue like you are some deep, intospective English teacher, it can be a lot of fun. Understand some parts are supposed to be confusing, and it is normal to feel lost.

One chapter describes the roundabout way Milo Minderbinder makes a profit. It is supposed to sound absurd to you. Heller is sarcastically demonstrating the reality of war profiteering. Milo can make you furious, but what really made me furious was how he made no one else around him furious!

Overall this was just a fun book, that appeals to the average person looking for a good read, and the serious reader looking for enlightenment. That is the genius of it. For a couple of days while reading the book I was talking like the characters, and I drove people around me crazy. I do not recommend doing this, especially if you are married. Just have fun with it!

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Summary: War is Hell
Review: This book is difficult to review because it swings between funny anecdotes and horrific descriptions of war. There is also much extraneous material to slog through which makes it a long read. The tone is reminiscent of the television series M*A*S*H, or since Catch-22 came first, maybe it is the other way around. In any case it is an interesting book but a classic it is not. Stick with Tolstoy, Hemingway or Fitzgerald.

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Summary: The Greatest (and Funniest) Novel Ever Written!
Review: Listen: John Yossarian has come unstuck in time.

During the waning days of WWII, on the Italian island of Pianosa, Yossarian is the lead bombadier for the Fighting 256th Squadron ("That's 2 to the fighting 8th power," he tells the squadron's chaplain.) Basically, the story progress as follows: Yossarian goes bonkers, ducks into the hospital with a phony fever, gets chased out by a patriotic Texan, runs back in when a friend dies, gets chased back out by a rambunctious nurse, gets sent back in when he gets hit by shrapnel, gets chased out by an insane psychiatrist, gets readmitted when he's stabbed by an Italian prostitute, and hightails it himself when he learns that he's about to be court martialed.

The fact that the book is told entirely out of chronological order seems to confound most people. Yossarian spends most of the book in and out of the hospital, and in any given chapter, he might be in the hospital 10 times in 10 different flashbacks with no indication of where he is in time. There are flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks. Characters die and are resurrected 5 chapters later, and often the same events are repeated multiple times from multiple perspectives, often hundreds of pages apart.

"Catch-22" is not an easy read, but for those intimidated by some of the other reviews, just try to enjoy the book's anarchic humor in the moment without trying to figure out where you are in time and space. And should you read it again (and like many other reviewers, I've read this dozens of times) the intricate tapestry that Joseph Heller has stitched together across hundreds of pages slowly starts to reveal itself. Jokes told on page 10 are suddenly explained on page 300. And weirdly enough, on a second read, you start to realize that jokes told on page 300 were actually explained on page 10. Nuances, characters, and plot threads that you may have missed the first time become evident with each additional read. Don't give up on this book. I first read it when I was 14 and I didn't understand a word I had read by the time I was finished. But I had laughed the whole way through, and that was enough to get me to pick it up again. And again. And again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Catch 22
Review: I cannot think why it has taken me nearly forty years to read Heller's masterpiece. It lived up to all I had ever heard. The hero (?) Yossarian is desperate to get away from the insanity of war. The Catch is that he cannot convince the authorities of his madness because anyone wanting to get away from the war must be sane. This is the thread, which runs through the book. In the process we meet a host of bizarre, comic and tragic characters. There is the brilliant Major Major Major who will only allow men to come in and see him when he is out. In fact the higher they go the madder they get - Cargill, Cathcart, Dreedle and the wonderful Scheisskopf whose dream is to put his men in a parade. But for me the genius of the book is in the creation of Milo Minderbinder who manages to turn the war into an unrivalled business opportunity. Throughout the book there is the haunting spectre of Snowden - what really happened to him.

I cannot imagine that there is a more entertaining, more gripping and more powerful account of the insanity of war. Nobody should go through life without reading this.

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointingly boring...
Review: Judging from most of the reviews here I'm obviously going against the flow, which is bizzare since one of the reasons i decided to read Heller's book was exactly the fact that most reviewers are raving about it. Oh well, there's a lesson to be learned here somewhere.

"Catch 22" is considered a classic but in my mind "classics" are books of the caliber of "1984" or "Brave New World" or "The Stand", books that hold up in time and deliver their message in a way that isnt anachronistic. "Catch 22" does not belong in such an "elite" category.
It's supposedly "hilarious" but that's a very emphatic statement to make about humour and, hmm, i hardly laughed with it. Sure, humour is (as are many concepts) just a matter of perspective but from my angle of the world this was hardly enough to make you grin. Another paradox is that many readers claim you "have to be well read" to like this or (even stranger) you "have to read this if you want to be well read".
This is absolutely untrue. What is actually true is that the more you've read the less the chances become you'll be thrilled by "Catch 22" and if you are not "well read" (which is hard to define anyway) "Catch 22" wont add too much to your thinking arsenal except in my opinion the obvious.

So what is the obvious here?

Heller goes into an overlengthy diatribe to deliver an antiwar message decorated with philosophy bits and some provocative thoughts. While he tries to bring forth the insanity of war he does so by using incredibly underdeveloped characters, a totally ineffective plot (if one can call this a plot) and humour that tries to be subtle sarcasm but fails completely as:
-if it's subtle i`t's so subtle it's almost invisible, and
- if it's sarcasm it's so harmless that it causes little concern to its targets.

I wont go into the story or the characters as many other reviewers have covered that in 1000s of reviews here. What i will add is this: "Catch 22" is painfully boring to read, it becomes almost a task as you go through the first 50-100 pages and you find the same concepts over and over repeated and what is supposed to be a "storyline" thinnning continuously until it almost dissapears. If all "classics" were like this my take is that literature could easily become mental torture.

What i find even sadder is that Heller fails while actually delivering an important message. This only drives home the fact that you might have the right thoughts but this doesnt mean you can express them in a literary way. Heller would be probably better off had he written a straight philosophical book which would have been way more in his element. As it is he takes a shot at literature and doesnt miss as he hits the target head on and the victim expires.
All a matter of perspective as i said, but i would advise you to take a good look at both the negative and the positive reviews about "Catch 22" before you decide whether to read it or not. You'll be surprised how completely contradicting they are. Hilarious and boring dont exactly go together. If, however, you do go on and read it dont be surprised if you find that you're forcing yourself through it.

Rating:
Summary: MORE STARS PLEASE
Review: Whatever can I say about Catch 22 that hasn't been already ? I can say that it is the first book I ever truly LOVED. It was the first book I ever read twice in a row. I can say I have read it possibly more times than any other [who keeps track ?] at least 10 and maybe 20. I can say it still makes me laugh my ass off. I can say I LOVED ALL the characters even those I hated. I can also say I am very happy I got to shake Joseph Hellers hand and tell him how much I loved his book before he died. I wish I had had a hardback copy of Catch 22 for him to sign for me but I got him to do me a paperback. Well anyway I think Catch 22 is totally wonderful and everyone should read it.

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Summary: Truly Amazing
Review: Catch 22 is a classic. No book has more viciously exposed the way logic can be a false, coercive tool, or the way men can be coerced by society into fulfilling roles they are absolutely dispassionate for. The book is polymesmeric; making pass after pass over the air base, and the time stretch it explores- like the bombers that Yossarian is petrified of even stepping foot in. Building up detail; layer upon layer, we are forced to examine how this madness revolves and evolves from every possible characters perspective. Every man in this book is small and weak, all are likeable. Amongst the characters of the air base, only Yossarian can see the madness of the false logic and coercion that lies a few inches behind "free will". This book is truly an amazing reading experience, powerful as any book you will read in your life. Another quick book recommendation --> a satire -- [e-mail] by Tom Grimes

Rating:
Summary: Just evening it up
Review: Greatest book I ever read. After all these others no more that I can say. Makes me sick that some people didn't give it 5 stars