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jelek86's review against another edition
3.0
Two months is a long time for me to read any book, especially in the summer. I think this dragged on for me because Yossarian spent a lot more time reflecting than actually doing anything. The ending seemed a little disconnected from the bulk of the plot, too. Oh, well.
jenmeleon's review
2.0
This book, like Catch-22, had scenes, characters and plot strands that bordered on absurd and completely confusing. I am sure some of that was intentional, but some of it was also due to my not paying attention as closely as I should have. Overall, the book was hard for me to get through, although there were some enjoyable moments and it was interesting to revisit these characters in a non-war setting and see where their lives had ended up 50 years later. I also wonder if I might appreciate the book more if I were older and could relate more to the characters' life experiences.
jesssalexander's review
5.0
Like Catch 22, this is more of a statement than a story. Through paradox and parody, Heller expands his concept from his first book that life is absurd, humanity is senseless, and nothing is reasonable. Only now, instead of focusing on WWII, we find Yossarian at the end of his life (hence, closing time) battling the senselessness of American capitalism, the government, and foreign policy in a post Cold War world. A world in which a bomber can be an "instrument of peace." We find Yossarian as the book begins- in satisfying symmetry- again in a hospital in perfect health. Single and mingling and on the high side of sixty, Yosarrian has some kids, some cynicism, and some life maxims he doesn't believe but thinks are true. He makes it out of the hospital, plans a wedding in a bus terminal, gets his girlfriend pregnant, and faces the end of times at the hands of a videogame-playing president who accidentally detonated nukes. Like before in Catch 22, it is hard to decide whether Yossarian is crazy or everyone else is. I'll need to read both books a few more times to really get it, but I love what I can glean from the first read through!
jzelman's review
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
allenjd's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
lastonedown's review
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
It just sucked. The plot was indecipherable (Catch-22 was complicated, but it made sense. This didn't), the new characters were so poorly written they were basically 0-dimensional and the returning ones (Milo, Yossarian, Chaplain, Wintergreen) were 1-d at best. This is the Ready Player 2 of classic American literature. It's so bad that it's actually good (if your sense of humor is as broken as mine), but then you remember that you could be rereading Catch-22 instead and it goes right back to being bad again.
It gets brownie points for the Chaplain saying "F*ck you!" though. That was pretty good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Medical content, and Sexual content
Minor: Death, Gore, and Suicide
A lot more sex than you would expect and it's a bit more explicit than Catch but not by much, WW2 flashbacks, somebody is kidnapped by the governmentnikolastoti's review
It is an encore of (for me) the greatest novel ever written. You cannot stack up to such a title obviously. Dont treat this as Catch 22-2 but as an epilogue years later.