Reviews

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

thisisthelion's review against another edition

3.0

3.5/5

ruttery's review against another edition

3.0

"You're inches away from death every time you go on a mission. How much older can you be at your age?"

Wisdom, loss and absurdist humour all rolled into one book.

This seems to be one that people absolutely love or absolutely hate.

I went through all of that in the same book. At the start I loved it and found it very funny. My joy gradually turned to exasperation as the book's timeline jumped all over the place, introduced characters I couldn't keep up with from one moment to the next, and even the excellent satire wore thin (and cor, I love satire). By the end, we were on better terms, but I still felt like we couldn't repair our relationship to what we had in the early days. There are some moments of absolute genius, moments of despairing sadness and moments where I just wanted to pull my hair out at the repetition of the running catch-22 joke. The madness of war and hypocrisy (the hypocrisy of madness and war? the war of hypocrisy and madness?) was certainly not lost on me, but I thought in places it tried to be too ambitious and could have been much more compact in content. Would definitely recommend having a go, but it takes some determination to reach the end of the complex web of story.

captlychee's review

2.0

Whoever called [a:Joseph Heller|3167|Joseph Heller|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1197308614p2/3167.jpg] a brilliant writer really needs to read better books. Fortunately, there are plenty of them.

I have attempted this thing twice and failed to finish it both times. Absurdity piled on absurdity is all very well, but there'd better be some purpose to doing that. The same was true for [b:Something Happened|10718|Something Happened|Joseph Heller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596837721l/10718._SY75_.jpg|2703812], which people teold me was a brilliantly observed critique of American society. Maybe it's because I'm not American that I found it simplistic and boring. The same with this.

You can get better insights into modern life from a fortune cookie, so help yourselves out and get some nice duck in orange sauce as well.

dnandrews797's review

4.0

“It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.”

I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to like this book when I first started reading it because it seemed a little too verbose without really saying anything meaningful. However, the deeper I got into the story the more I started to love it. I laughed, I cried, I threw my hands up in exasperation and found myself cheering by the end of it. Catch 22 brings into focus the absurdity of the bureaucracy of war and how ideals can be corrupted by human influence. What I was most impressed by though was Keller’s ability to write a nonlinear narrative without sacrificing the gradual building of tension and feeling of danger closing in on all sides that Yossarian feels throughout the story. The books structure itself seemed to emotionally mirror the protagonist: stretching out events in some parts to try and put off unpleasantness before pulling traumatic moments into sharp focus. A true masterpiece.l that was a genuine pleasure to read.

crash369's review

2.0

I never got to read this book in high school, as many others, so I decided to give it a go when I saw it on the shelf.

I have to say that I find it difficult to understand why this particular book is on that special list of "school" fiction books. It's not that it is bad -- it is decent for what it is. It's just that there are many other books that are written on the same subject (of social/psychological issues of soldiers in wartime) and in a similar style (stream-of-consciousness-ish) that are so much better!

becca_boulton's review against another edition

funny inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

wolfgold's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

itsmadzz's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bradland's review

4.0

I think I would appreciate Catch-22 more with a re-read, as the storyteling does take some time to get used to. The characters are initially difficult to tell apart with all the ranks, moustaches and Major Majors but after a while they do become clearer and the enjoyment more pronounced. I can see why goodread members have voted this novel the most unfinished. The story is very humourous with many memorable passages, even if there is a mismash of time and place, not knowing where the reader is from one moment to the next. Regardless, there is a reason why the phrase 'Catch-22' has become part of our culture, where everyone knows what it means. I was quite surprised how grim it got near the end, comes on suddenly like a light switch, but still very powerful stuff.

although's review

dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0