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Summary: One of those books I know I could never write
Review: Catch-22 is not perfectly written, but pretty damn close.
It starts out hilarious and ends horrifying. The book is incredibly fictional, to the point of ridiculousness, but as they say, "much truth is said in jest."It's not perfect: Heller's scene with Yossarian in the rain near the end was a bit overdone, and if he wanted to make it dramatic and impacting, he should have written it better, but all in all with the hilarity, the brilliant irony, and the anti-war effect it leaves you after you read it, it deserves an easy 5 stars.
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Summary: War is Swell
Review: Catch-22 is an insightful and hilarious book. I first read it in high high school and loved it and thought I'd take a second look. It still holds up and is still incredibly funny. It speaks of the insanity of war but really comments on the absurdness of life. Heller has created a number of unforgetable characters that continue live on well after putting the book down. The humor in the book and the overall tone of not only questioning authority but ridiculing it make it a joy to read and reread.
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Summary: "Best book I have ever read!" Anyone who says this.....
Review: here are a few recommendations. If you want to laugh out loud and tell your friends about the funniest book you've ever read, pick up something by Bill Bryson or Tony Horowitz. If you want to read "the best book you've ever read" pick up a Dickens, Stienbeck, Orwell, Twain, or Harper Lee and surely you won't be disappointed. This book is definitely different and I will not go so far as to say avoid it, or even that I didn't enjoy it simply because Heller tells his story in such a unique way, but to put such a book on a pedestal above works by the authors I have mentioned, which is by no means a complete list, is ridiculous.
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Summary: The Grandfather of Black Humor is Still Spry!
Review: This is quite possibly the best book that I have ever read. Heller's first novel isn't a classic because it's old or the dying fart of some well-respected author--its a classic because its hilarious and at the same time dark, because its meaningful and at the same time completely irrational. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fans rejoice, because this is the book that sired it. This is what black humor ought to be--and frankly, everyone who's read this book knows it! It's zany, its fun, but its also worth your time. Catch-22 turns life--and war--inside out and laughs at it. Its philosophy: "to live forever or die trying"! Read it; you couldn't possibly be disappointed!
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Summary: I miss reading it, and i'm sad to move on to new books!
Review: I started Catch-22 3 times in my life. 2 of the times ended halfway through because life just wouldn't have it. But finally i had the summer off and i decided, ok FIRST BOOK this summer will be Catch-22, i'm going to finish it if it kills me. And i finally did. It was absolutely amazing. I saw my own world changing after reading the novel for two weeks. The way i thought the way i talked, my views on what a coward and what a brave person is. It was really great. Joseph Heller is absolutely a genius. He created a world, much like our own with it's own hypocracies and jaded/curupt leading figures. And then there was Yossarian, I fell in love with him falling in love with every girl he laid eyes on. His amiable persona and his great questions and ideas and etc. Definately one of my favorite books now.
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Summary: Read it over and over and over again
Review: The funniest book I've ever read in my life..But some not so funny truths are buried under the humor
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Summary: An All-Time Favorite
Review: What more can be said about "Catch-22?" It's one of those classics that is such a staple, you grow up with it as a part of the cultural fabric. As a student of literature and culture, I think it's an absolutely brilliant satire; as a sarcastic person with an odd sense of humor, I find it immensely pleasurable to read and re-read. The first time around, it can seem pointlessly bizarre, and it's easy to lose sight of the fact that satire is an extremely difficult genre to pull off well. And "Catch-22" pretty much wrote the book (no pun intended) on satire. What's frightening is how prescient it is, how uncomfortably close to truth satire is. Re-reading "Catch 22" during the war with Iraq is a supremely creepy experience. But I guess that speaks to how important it is as a work of literature. If you haven't read it, you should. If you have, you should read it again.
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Summary: After Catch-22, Life Becomes Something More (or does it?)
Review: As my friends and I entered our AP English class one morning, our teacher handed out a blank page to each of us and asked us each to define "war." Little did I know how much that definition, along with my entire view of life , would be changed as soon as I cracked the binding of the novel that we were to start: Catch-22. Heller's timeless novel, though written in the aftermath of World War II (the author, like the novel's protagonist Yossarian, was a bombardier who witnessed the destruction and chaos that war always brings), is so much more than a standard war novel; it has come to define society's outlook on all things modern, including patriotism, humor, individuality, pain and the truly heroic. It tells the beautifully unstructured-structured tale of a young man, Yossarian, grappling with the illogic of morality and self-preservation. The novel is anti-etsblishment in that it asks readers to always consider their actions before giving their blind allegiance (Milo's syndicate, the glorious loyalty oath crusade) to that which is spoon-fed to them. Stark, shocking and profound in its portrayal of its society of men (and, in perhaps its only, exceedingly minor, flaw, only men), Catch-22 draws readers in, keeps them hanging on every word, and never forgets to evoke emotion, moving from humor to pity and fear, realizing the tragedy of life and death. While many have criticized the novel for its non-linear approach, Heller's structure, syntax (including some of the most amazing sentences I think I've ever read) and language prove the man to be a master. The novel loops back upon itself, returning to heartrending scenes, subtly revealing more each time in its use of diction. Snowden's death is the clearest example of such treatment in the work, only fully complete as the book reaches its truly thrilling conclusion (I'm definitely not going to spoil any of the ending by telling you more--just read it!). Catch-22 is a novel that you can't put down, no matter how you try; characters and storylines all fall into place as you move from the novel's confusion to its own type of enlightenment (particularly in these troubling times)--stick with it, enjoy, learn and take a break from the novel (for I don't think one ever truly "leaves" it) a better person...you'll thank yourself for it.
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Summary: The Best War Novel of the 20th Century
Review: This book is so well written. It will change your views on war, it certainly did mine. Joseph Heller wrote one the best book of the 20th century in his first novel. It is astounding. Yossarian, the books protagonist, is one of my favorite characters in literature. He is called crazy for being sane in an insane world. Yossarian is not the only character of note. Each chapter, other than two, is given the name of the character that it explains. You'll laugh at Milo's business practices, Major Major Major Major (read the book to understand), and the books namesake, Catch-22. This book is great; it is on par with all of the other great American books of the 20th century.
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Summary: will you laugh or cry?
Review: Catch22 is the phrase used to describe the ironic paradoxical injustices that all humans must face. This is one of those books that hold a faint prestige for the reader, like upon finishing it, they enter a secret club, the catch22 club! You start to see Clevingers and Milos and Major Major Major's (who happens to be my favourite character!) everywhere. I know some people who think that this book makes the world and humanity ugly, but I think that's just cos the book has opened their eyes to the ironic injustices of the world for the first time. I think it makes the world beautiful, because all the characters, even the slimiest of them, are struggling so hard for what they want against all those ironic injustices, Captain Black to prove Major Major is a communist, Yossarian to get out of the army, Milo to make as much money as possible. And the basic innocence that all these characters have is the only reason why they can do the terrible things they do. Milo getting paid by the germans to bomb his own camp, CHief White Halfoat threatening Flume's life for a joke but causing Flume to live in eternal fear, every man who killed another in WW2, every man who ran the other way in fear for his life. It's a homage to humanity's innocence. The whole book says to me, "Look at all the horror and terror we are capable of, yet look at our frailty and stupidity, and beneath it all, a tenacity to keep going." This book doesn't make light of war, it vindicates humanity of war. Anyway of course there are many other aspects to the book, its one of those books that can mean many things to the reader. Also an interesting thing to add, apparently "MASH" was based on this book. Although MASH is not nearly as dark, it still has many of the bsic themes and foible-filled characters.
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