Rating: 
Summary: good book
Review: After reading the book Catch-22 I have a few comments and questions. First, I loved the book. The idea of turning a war into a comedy makes an interesting story. The complexity of Yossarian and other characters really draws the reader into the book. I would like to know if you know if there is any real truth to the story. I am interested in finding out if Joseph Heller, the author, experienced these events as a basis for his story. If you have any answers or have any e-mail addresses of people who may, please respond. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Brutally Honest, Tragically Humourous
Review: Heller's masterpiece; Catch-22 (Set in WW2 the story of a bombardier named Yossarian who thinks everyone wants to get him killed) is so because of a multitude of reasons. The more literary aspects are known but what I found most endearing was the sheer class of humour he uses. From seemingly absurd sentences rises the glory of a dark dry humour. I was in splits throughout the book!Read the book if you are dying to read something really great and really different. Also, read the book if your are feeling depressive. Its that good! If you are in two minds I can suggest a sure fire way to resolve your doubt. Get your hands on and read any 2-3 page excerpt. If you don't fall in love don't buy it. But I must warn you that you would probably end up wishing to get your hands onto the book real fast! The title itself is a mirror to whats inside. Catch-22 is now a standard idiom of the english language and refers to a situation in which whatever you do to get out of the fix gets you back into it. Happy catching up...
Rating: 
Summary: More Fun Then You Would Think
Review: I found myself laughing more then I thought I would with this book. Buy it becuase you want to see humor in a crazy situation.
Rating:
Summary: A Memorable Mess
Review: This is the story of a fictional bomber squadron on the Italian island of Pianosa. The characters are many and diverse, and their problems even moreso. But wow - this is quite unlike any other novel in the history of American literature. We sympathize with only a few characters, mainly Yossarian and the chaplain, the seemingly only sane characters in the entire novel. Everyone else - all of the generals, majors, colonels, captains, pilots, privates, PFCs, etc. - they are all just a little bit off their rocker, and it can make for such an interesting reading experience. We are being shown the true madness of war - the concept of "patriotism" and all armed conflict is challenged, because, as Yossarian says, it matters not what side they're on, because both sides want you dead. Sometimes the dialogue is absolutely hilarious when two of these "insane" characters get together for a conversation. And other times the narration makes you double over and wretch in disgust, (e.g. Yossarian tending to Snowden's wounds and that eventual outcome - if you've read you know to what I am referring). Now I wasn't alive when this was originally published, but I can only imagine the praise that it would have garnered. Nothing has ever so perfectly captured the madness and irrationality of war. And Catch-22, now a part of our national lexicon, was the pretense (in this novel) used by our "insane" characters to argue their point and keep the men fighting. If you haven't read "Catch-22", this may be making no sense. I leave you with only an example, because it almost defies explanation. Yossarian is a bombardier who doesn't want to fly more missions (the number to get you a ticket home is continually being raised). Learning of a proposed dangerous run to Bologna, he sneakes into the map room and moves the pins on the map. The next day commanding officers see the map, think that they've taken Bologna already, and cancel the mission. You'll constantly be furrowing your brow, but in the end, as I did, you'll understand what Heller's been saying all along. And you won't ever look at war in the same way.
Rating:
Summary: Made me enjoy reading again!
Review: I credit this book with my newfound enjoyment in reading. I found that although the book has some deeper meaning about the affects of war on the human psyche, for the most part it was tremendously funny. The best relation I can give is that normally when you watch a movie or show that you find funny, you usually don't laugh at loud the entire show, however you still find the jokes funny. This book made me laugh out loud numerous times. This is a perfect book and a must read for people who want a step back from meaningful, soul searching books and to find a novel that is simply entertaining to read.
Rating:
Summary: funny, sad and beautiful
Review: i read this book after having it recommended to me several times and it is well worth reading. a lot of it is simply infuriating, full of backflashes, repetitive jokes and crazy word play. but all of that doesn't matter because the story and the great characters overcome these downfalls every step of the way. this isn't so much a book about war, more an insight into the lives of the people involuntarily involved in it. yossarian, the main character, believes that everyone is crazy and everyone in turn believes that he is the crazy one. yossarian would rather die than be killed and struggles everyday to avoid being involved in this war that others seem to revel in. it's beautiful and sad and i highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: apocalyptic, terrorfying comedy
Review: Catch 22 is definetly one of the greatest war novels ever written. It manages to be hilarious, ironic, violent, gruesome, sad and prophetic throughout the enitire 463 pages, sometimes throughout one chapter. The book isnt really about war, its more about a group of insane poeple in a bomber sqaudron and one character who is the sane one...or so it seems. It is also about how much danger there is in our everyday lives and all the truths we try to ignore. Soem may not like the ending, but it reall is perfect. Buy it
Rating:
Summary: A sarcastic cynical heartbreaking ludicrous classic
Review: What can you say about a book that has had so much influence? It's clearly deservedly classic. But it isn't a real pleasure to read, at least not for me. The prose is so dense that you have to read every word. You can never predict where a sentence or a paragraph is going. Heller makes sudden, neck-snapping changes from the cutely ridiculous (like the squadron commander refusing to see people in his office when he's there) to really heartbreaking. The genius of the book is not in the humor, which to me at least started to get old after a while--the genius is in his assault on the bureaucratic mind and the way he captures the feeling of men trapped in the inhuman machinery of war. It isn't the most enjoyable thing in the world to read, but it should be read.
Rating: 
Summary: Overestimated
Review: I found Hellers work abysmal. I read it (and bought it) because I'd never read it, and heard from others that it's worth it. They lied. Heller tries to write in much the same manner as Jim Carrey or his progener Jerry Lewis try to act. No thought is given to the conclusion; all that matters to any of them is the method of destruction to the next punch-line. Bah, never have I wasted more time trying to be "educated"...
Rating:
Summary: Get the book, NOW!
Review: I'm the 357th person to review this book. The average rating so far is 4 1/2. Why are you bothering to read my review, isn't that recomendation enough? You want more? Fine. I give this book 5 stars because it is the most ingenious, funny and entertaining book I have read in a long time. It is not so much a novel, but a collection of stories about a squadron group in WW2 which somehow all tie in together. Each character has their own foibles, and each is described in amusing detail. At time it does repeat itself (how many times is Snowden's death referred to?), but this doesn't detract from the great wartime yarns that are being told. All in all, a very funny read that 9 out of 10 people will love. There, now what are you waiting for? Put it in your shopping cart, NOW!
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