eBook, 523 pages
English language
Published April 5, 2011 by Simon & Schuster.
Catch-22 is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, describing events from the points of view of different characters. The separate storylines are out of sequence so the timeline develops along with the plot. The novel is set during World War II, from 1942 to 1944. It mainly follows the life of antihero Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. Most of the events in the book occur while the fictional 256th US Army Air Squadron is based on the island of Pianosa, in the Mediterranean Sea west of Italy, though it also covers episodes from basic training at Lowry Field in Colorado and Air Corps training at Santa Ana Army …
Catch-22 is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, describing events from the points of view of different characters. The separate storylines are out of sequence so the timeline develops along with the plot. The novel is set during World War II, from 1942 to 1944. It mainly follows the life of antihero Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. Most of the events in the book occur while the fictional 256th US Army Air Squadron is based on the island of Pianosa, in the Mediterranean Sea west of Italy, though it also covers episodes from basic training at Lowry Field in Colorado and Air Corps training at Santa Ana Army Air Base in California. The novel examines the absurdity of war and military life through the experiences of Yossarian and his cohorts, who attempt to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements so that they may return home. The book was made into a film adaptation in 1970, directed by Mike Nichols. In 1994, Heller published a sequel to the 1961 novel entitled Closing Time.
Interesante, aunque acusa el paso del tiempo. Caótico, variopinto. No salen las mujeres muy bien paradas (no lo estaban en ese tiempo).
I found this book utterly annoying. The concept of Catch-22 is interesting but I don't see any reason why it should be spread on 500 pages with erratic dialogue and no plot whatsoever. I get it, war is hell. But that doesn't mean I should torture myself with this book...
Irritatingly juvenile, though I understand the role it served at a point in US history. DNF
Maybe I should revisit this. I read it a long time ago and it just fell flat for me.
WTF was that?
Better than Kafka though.
This was a tough read. It's really not a comedy, but more of an absurd tragedy. if you don't believe me, try applying a "divine fulcrum" to an acquaintance, and wait for the hilarity to ensue.
I am sure this book allowed Heller to work through his PTSD, because I felt it myself.
1) ''Nately was instantly up in arms again. 'There is nothing so absurd about risking your life for your country!' he declared.
'Isn't there?' asked the old man. 'What is a country? A country is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by boundaries, usually unnatural. Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia. There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war. Surely so many countries can't all be worth dying for.'''
2) '''I'm nuts. Cuckoo. Don't you understand? I'm off my rocker. They sent someone else home in my place by mistake. They've got a licensed psychiatrist up at the hospital who examined me, and that was his verdict. I'm really insane.'
'So?'
'So?' Yossarian was puzzled by Doc Daneeka's inability to comprehend. 'Don't you see what that means? Now you can take …
1) ''Nately was instantly up in arms again. 'There is nothing so absurd about risking your life for your country!' he declared.
'Isn't there?' asked the old man. 'What is a country? A country is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by boundaries, usually unnatural. Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia. There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war. Surely so many countries can't all be worth dying for.'''
2) '''I'm nuts. Cuckoo. Don't you understand? I'm off my rocker. They sent someone else home in my place by mistake. They've got a licensed psychiatrist up at the hospital who examined me, and that was his verdict. I'm really insane.'
'So?'
'So?' Yossarian was puzzled by Doc Daneeka's inability to comprehend. 'Don't you see what that means? Now you can take me off combat duty and send me home. They're not going to send a crazy man out to be killed, are they?'
'Who else will go?'''
3) ''Morale was deteriorating and it was all Yossarian's fault. The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them.''
4) ''Catch-22 did not exist, he was positive of that, but it made no difference. What did matter was that everyone thought it existed, and that was much worse, for there was no object or text to ridicule or refute, to accuse, criticize, attack, amend, hate, revile, spit at, rip to shreds, trample upon or burn up.''
The first third of this book made me think about what a horrible writer Ayn Rand was. To have one idea, one that was pretty despicable, that could be easily stated in full in about two sentences, and then write scenarios that express that one idea ad nauseum... well, it's nauseating.
Heller, too, has a single idea to present here: war, its operations and administration, its causes and goals, is simply absurd. At every level, absurdity. The worst thing that could happen is to be the lone sane person capable of recognizing the absurdity of all of it, to be inescapably dog-paddling in the middle of a pool of absurd.
For a long time, while Catch-22 is merely comically absurd, this repetition is suffocating. It bears little resemblance to the world I am familiar with and to the way people behave. I started getting that same feeling I had slogging …
The first third of this book made me think about what a horrible writer Ayn Rand was. To have one idea, one that was pretty despicable, that could be easily stated in full in about two sentences, and then write scenarios that express that one idea ad nauseum... well, it's nauseating.
Heller, too, has a single idea to present here: war, its operations and administration, its causes and goals, is simply absurd. At every level, absurdity. The worst thing that could happen is to be the lone sane person capable of recognizing the absurdity of all of it, to be inescapably dog-paddling in the middle of a pool of absurd.
For a long time, while Catch-22 is merely comically absurd, this repetition is suffocating. It bears little resemblance to the world I am familiar with and to the way people behave. I started getting that same feeling I had slogging through Atlas Shrugged. "O, Come On, I get it already. I don't agree with you, but you've made your point!" Eventually, though, Heller begins to hint at events that just are not laughable on any level. As the novel becomes tragically absurd, it gets considerably better.
The progression of the novel is pretty masterfully achieved. While I chuckled inwardly a bit in the initial chapters, and lost patience with the repetition for several more, and then slowly was shown this light and a meaning, I have to believe Heller aimed for just my response in each section. I guess I respect the way I was played even if, in the end, I'm not really convinced.
Picked this one up and set it down over and over again. It's hard to get into, then alternates between hilarious and monotonous. Probably just me, and if you try it, be sure to give it an honest try as it does get better, with lots to chew on. It's tough to say anything new about a book this widely read, so I won't even try.
Re-reading it in chunks and at leisurely speed. One of the most influential books ever.
I really loved this book; tacking the mental issues suffered during war time would be really difficult, but Joseph Heller’s satirical take and amazing writing made it easier to both understand and read. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like this; it was humorous, it was very enjoyable.
Hilarious, classic, and just a good read. Enjoyable through and through.
Hilarious, classic, and just a good read. Enjoyable through and through.
Hilarious, classic, and just a good read. Enjoyable through and through.
See my review of Cat's Cradle.
