Rating: Summary: Let Us Reason Together Review: Does no one understand that a Story need not flow chronologically? Does no one realize that Catch-22 decries not simply the military, but all bureaucracy and the brutality which abounds when people can hide within such complex structures? Does no one see that Yossarian was a patriot -- only not by the definition of his countrymen? Do any of those who denounce this book as "anti-war" comprehend that the only alternative to being "anti-war" is to be "pro-war," and to be "pro-war" is barbaric? Is there no one righteous?
Rating: Summary: Poignant, Thought provoking, and Hilarious! Review: Joseph Heller's, Catch 22, is without fail one of the best books ever written. If VH1 did an award's show for books this one would win in "Damn I Wish I Wrote That". This is a powerful book that can alter your reality!
Rating: Summary: Great book but... Review: Don't let the length of it to tire you, at the end you wouldn't want it to end. Take it slow and enjoy every sentence.
Rating: Summary: Review of Catch-22 Review: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a very strange novel. It definitely has its high and low points like every novel. This book however seemed a little more confusing than some other books that I have read in the past. There were definitely many twists and turns throughout the story. Catch-22 is about a fighter pilot named Yossarian. Yossarian is a man that finds himself in the middle of World War II. He is very confused about what is going on but he is the only man that seems to know that his life is in jeopardy. During the novel he takes you on many different adventures. Some of them are quite funny while others are totally confusing. He does not like the position he is in and he wants to get out of the war before he is killed. Throughout the novel he runs into many different and interesting people. While all of this is going on he is still trying to save his own life by trying to get out of the war. This is where he runs into all of these different catches which forbid him from exiting duty. Overall I thought that this was a very good novel. Throughout the book I ran into several confusing and misleading parts but it all seemed to make a connection later on in the book. I think that the author did a very good job writing the novel. It kept me very entertained. I would highly recommend this book, although the reading level is a little more advanced I think that it is suitable for any high school student looking for a bit of a challenge.
Rating: Summary: If you don't enjoy this book, you take life too seriously Review: "Catch 22" is one of the funniest books anyone's ever read. I use that phrasing intentionally because pretty much everyone who's read it, it seems, considers it one of the funniest books they've ever read. In fact, it's difficult to imagine anyone not finding this book utterly charming, despite the obvious dark themes which any novel about war will address. Nearly every single character in this work is hilarious, though they are extremely varied-no two are alike. This book shouldn't take very long for anyone to read, even though they'll probably be interrupted constantly by their own incessant gut-laughing.
Rating: Summary: Catch22 - A Novel Worth Anyone's Reading Review: As a high schooler, I would recommend "Catch-22" to anyone who isn't intimitated by larger books. This book is a novel about war and its prospects, morals, and the effects it has on the people within it. The narrator focuses on the events occuring in the camp of Pianosa, located on an island off the coast of Italy. The main character, Yossarian, gains morals and fights the system during World War II. It is very good a keeps the reader's attention. It's a nice variation from most dull high school reading, and I would rank this book right up there with "Clockwork Orange". If you are a high schooler looking for a challenging book, I would most certainly recommend "Catch-22". (Didn't that sound like it came straight out of Reading Rainbow?)
Rating: Summary: Catch 22 Review: The book Catch 22 by Joeshph Heller is a book about a piolt in WWII. The main charecter is named Yossaian. This piolt is very paranoid about alot of things. Also through out the book he trys to get out of flying missions by doing various things. A couple of things he does is fake being sick. Also he fakes being mentally insane. This book is different from any other book i've read. There is a unique yet talented style of writting i've never encountered before. In the midst of all the chaos of war the author still seems to throw in alot of humor. It is also a different sense of humor based on simple concepts. When I first started reading it, I was thinking too hard to understand the humor, I thought there was a deeper meaning to alot of it. After confusing myself a bit I learend that I just have to take it for what it is and judge it at face value. At the end the humor is more one big joke than many little ones. My advice to the reader is to just read and accept, then later it will make sense. An example of this humor would be on page 33, "I did it to protect my good reputation in case anyone ever caught me walking around with crab apples in my cheeks. With rubber balls in my hands I could deny there were crab apples in my cheeks. Every time someone asked me why I was walking around with crab apples in my cheeks, I'd just open my hands and show them it was rubber balls I was walking around with, not crab apples, and that they were in my hands not my cheeks." That is a perfect example of humor you shouldn't try to figure out. There is nothing to figure out. That part is just telling you about the personality of the charecter Orr. Overall it was a very good book. The only possible drawback is that the begining is slow moving. You might get frustrated with the book, but just keep reading, it gets better. The possitive of this book far out weighs the negative.
Rating: Summary: Great, original war story Review: There have been many novels written about the horrors of war in the 20th century, and in my opinion, "Catch-22" is the best one. Heller adopts a completly original style for this work. He takes scenes of outrageous comedy and mixes them together with brutal descriptions of violent conflict. The contrast keeps the reader off balance; you never know what to expect next. Heller's amazing talent as a writer comes through in almost every paragraph. His dialogue is believable, sharp, and witty; his word choice is very precise; and his descriptions are incredibly powerful. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the novel is the way that Heller juggles his gigantic cast of characters.So, should you buy "Catch-22"? Here are a couple sample paragraphs. If you find these to be funny, you will enjoy the entire novel. "Major Major had been born too late and too mediocre. Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as one lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were all impressed by how unimpressive he was. Major Major's father was a sober God-fearing man whose idea of a good joke was to lie about his age. He was a long-limbed farmer, a God-fearing, freedom-loving, law-abiding rugged individualist who held that federal aid to anyone but farmers was creeping socialism. He advocated thrift and hard work and disapproved of loose women who turned him down. His specialty was alfalfa and he made a good thing out of not growing any of it. The government paid him well for every bushel of alfalfa that he did not grow. The more alfalfa he did not grow, the more the government gave him, and he spent every penny he didn't earn on new land to increase the amount of alfalfa he did not produce. Major Major's father worked without rest at not growing alfalfa. On long winter evenings he remained indoors and did not mend harness, and he sprang out of bed at the crack of noon every day just to make certain that the chores would not be done. He invested in land wisely and soon was not growing more alfalfa than any other man in the county. Neighbors sought him out for advice on all subjects, for he had made much money a was therefore wise. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap," he counseled one and all, and everyone said, "Amen."
Rating: Summary: Confused Review: I bought this book because it was known as a classic. I don't know if you have to read it 20 times, but I was confused through the whole book. I couldn't tell the timeframe of each chapter. Maybe I just don't appreciate that each chapter was a catch 22. Oh well, I don't suggest to buy this book, though.
Rating: Summary: Absurd and darkly comedic WWII story Review: If you were to take the sit-com M*A*S*H, set it in a WWII squadron of bombers, and make the comedy dark instead of light-hearted you would have Catch-22. In this story, a bombadier, convinced that he will die if he continues to fly bombing missions, tries in vain to get sent home after fulfilling his quota. The story utilizes absurdist circumstances and disfunctional characters to portray war, and the American military machine as a "damned if you do, and damned if you don't" hell where a sane person just doesn't fit in. Some of the passages were laugh-out-loud funny, but overall it was a bit dark and absurd for my tastes.
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