Scan barcode
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Murder, Grief, Cancer, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Cursing, Death, Dysphoria, Sexism, Police brutality, Gun violence, Sexual content, Medical content, Gore, Violence, Terminal illness, War, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Colonisation, Murder, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Classism, Vomit, Rape, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Antisemitism
friesenag's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The way Heller writes gave me a headache though, as the plot would go back and forth I had to keep my spark notes open to make sure I was really comprehending what was happening. The first half of the book there is no chronological order and the repetition of words, phrases, or actions also created maximum confusion. When I think about it more it definitely is a plot device to give the book a lack of structure and repeat things which gives the reader a sensation of the chaos that is occurring in every single characters brains and on the base. Insanity and deja vu are major plot points in the book and I think Heller wanted to amplify it in the readers, which did give me the feeling that I was going crazy while reading this book. I see the genius and deliberate work that he put into it, but that does not mean I have to enjoy it.
I want to preface this last part by saying I know that this guy is like a boomer and it was written in 1961, but the MISOGYNY in this book was APPALLING. Women were only mentioned in a sexual connotation and used as a plot device and weren't really well thought out in my opinion. There was a character that wasn't even given a name and just referred to as "Nately's Whore" the whole time and she was bored and not interested in Nately until he "saved her" and then tried to control her and THEN he DIED and all of a sudden she cared enough about him to try to kill Yossarian???? Idk, there was just not a single female character that wasn't a sex object or stupid or a plot device.
Overall this book is good on the pretense that it was anti-war and the structure of the book makes you feel sick to your stomach, much like the structure of war and American bureaucracy, but I can't look past the misogyny, sexism, racism, etc. to give this more than three stars. I know I'm looking at this in a modern lens but there's not way I can separate the good and bad of this book. I would be very concerned if a man said this was their favorite book, its definitely an interesting read but I would classify it as pretty problematic.
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Suicide, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Misogyny, War, Death, and Vomit
Moderate: Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Medical content
lastonedown's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs, Misogyny, Suicide, Rape, and War
Minor: Medical content and Murder
yeah_sure's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, War, and Gore
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, and Suicide
Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Murder
milo10000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Heller's exploration of absurdism and the evils that can be perpetuated by "just going with the flow" is masterful. Yossarian's journey out of the hospital and back into it again is at times both hilarious and hopeless. Highly recommend to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of impropriety
Graphic: Gore, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Rape
niamhbereading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
this book is not plot based at all. the plot is introduced in the first chapter: yossarian, a fighter pilot based in pianosa, has flown enough missions to be released from service & sent home in the states. however, everytime he Should be sent home, colonel cathcart raises the mission requirement, so yossarian and the other pilots are stuck there. this is elaborated on further into the book: the only way to be sent home other than flying the required missions is to be crazy, but in order to be found crazy you must admit to the doctor that you're crazy, & that in itself is proof that you're not crazy. that's the catch 22! but as soon as that's established like 50 or so pages in, the book shifts. most of the book focuses on other side characters, like the chaplain, milo, nately, & so forth. though yossarian is the protagonist & holds the main conflict, the book is not about him. it's an ensemble piece focusing on everyone in the squadron.
i, personally, loved that this book was an ensemble piece! each character's story was so unique & fleshed out, balancing comedic scenes & darker ones. the book is constantly moving, though the pace is manageable. i said that this book has a slow pace because the plot is very loose & doesn't move quickly. however, a lot still happens in this book, it just doesn't always play into yossarian's conflict.
the one thing about this book that irked me is the cast of characters. it's just so Huge. there's at least twenty-five characters who each have their own backstory or importance to the plot. they're all well written & distinct, but i just don't know how to imagine that many characters LOL. after a while, when a new character was introduced, i'd struggle to give them a face. then later on, when characters from earlier were being called back, i forgot how i imagined them. it didn't help that this book is about american wwii soldiers so most of the characters were white men. this may not be a problem for you if you're good at imagining characters, i just felt the need to mention it.
catch 22 has a lot to say on the impact of war & how it functions in american society. so much so that my brain is kinda blown apart from it. but this book is NOT preachy! overall it is more fun than anything else. you could have a field day dissecting this book. it is a surprisingly intellectual read.
Moderate: Death, Violence, Gore, and War
Minor: Rape
this book is about world war II. there are discussions of soldiers who died and, in the second to last chapter, a detailed scene of a soldier dying w gore. there is also a mention of a woman being raped and then killed by a soldier.paperknotbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, War, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Gore and Sexual content
loverboy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape
Minor: Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Suicide
proceduralbob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcohol and Rape
seanml's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Murder, Racism, Vomit, War, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture
Minor: Cannibalism