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tumormozgowicz's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
annikaripley's review against another edition
5.0
long after reading this i have come to realize that it is a fabulous commentary on society
akiikomori's review against another edition
2.0
I am glad that's over...
I don't have words like I don't know....what or why....
Really didn't need to read about a guy who doesn't want to be in the War and the 50+ characters around him.
The Wiki says there are 57 NAMED characters in this book. And very few of them are distinguishable (again this is from the perspective of an audiobook).
The life and times of pilots in WW2 is what this book should be called. Definitely not for me but at least I read a classic?
Where's that other list of books we were supposed to read in high school.
What books are they teaching in high school now?
I don't have words like I don't know....what or why....
Really didn't need to read about a guy who doesn't want to be in the War and the 50+ characters around him.
The Wiki says there are 57 NAMED characters in this book. And very few of them are distinguishable (again this is from the perspective of an audiobook).
The life and times of pilots in WW2 is what this book should be called. Definitely not for me but at least I read a classic?
Where's that other list of books we were supposed to read in high school.
What books are they teaching in high school now?
sarahberg's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
4.5
Funny and depressing and thoughtful but wish there was less weird stuff about women
sophia_med's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emaybury's review against another edition
5.0
Clever, deeply thought provoking novel. Would recommend
Published in ‘61, critiques WWII & military culture - expect occasional sexist & racist language by characters.
Published in ‘61, critiques WWII & military culture - expect occasional sexist & racist language by characters.
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.
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 against another edition
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.
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.