Catch-22
Catch-22 is like no other novel. It has its own rationale, its own extraordinary character. It moves back and forth from hilarity to horror. It is outrageously funny and strangely affecting. It is totally original. Set in the closing months of World War II in an American bomber squadron off Italy, Catch-22 is the story of a bombardier named Yossarian, who is frantic and furious because thousands of people he hasn't even met keep trying to kill him. Catch-22 is a microcosm of the twentieth-century world as it might look to someone dangerously sane. It is a novel that lives and moves and grows with astonishing power and vitality -- a masterpiece of our time. - Back cover.
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Community Reviews
JEEEZ this took me forever to read. I’m not sure how to rate it anything other than 5 stars simply from the quality of novel. Giving it 4 simply because it took me a long time to really get hooked. I probably ready the last 70% in two weeks.
It starts slow, and as the reader i did not understand the point until about 1/3 of the way through the book. But by that time i had built attachment to characters, and understood the absurdist and cyclical commentary about the nature of war. Sometimes we do feel like a Yossarian, where everyone else around us feels insane and we are stranded by our own sanity (does that make us insane?). Cringe statement ignore me.
Time for something lighter hahaha I need a book I can read in a week.
It starts slow, and as the reader i did not understand the point until about 1/3 of the way through the book. But by that time i had built attachment to characters, and understood the absurdist and cyclical commentary about the nature of war. Sometimes we do feel like a Yossarian, where everyone else around us feels insane and we are stranded by our own sanity (does that make us insane?). Cringe statement ignore me.
Time for something lighter hahaha I need a book I can read in a week.
This was a long book, and honestly, it left me feeling weary, hopeless, and exhausted. I felt worn down by the constant war, violence, and the repeated degradation and brutality toward women. That said, I won’t deny how brilliant it is. The writing is sharp, the satire is biting, and it is clearly an extremely intelligent book. In many ways, it feels like a mirror that a lot of men could spend hours staring into and maybe walk away from a little more enlightened.
I know it comes from a different time, and I do not doubt that much of it reflects the reality of that era. Uncomfortably so. And to be fair, some of those truths still hold today. But satire or not, I found it hard to read. The violence is relentless, I did not find any of it funny, and almost every male character felt completely unredeemable.
Maybe that is the point. Maybe it is a book men, especially those who beat their chests about war, should read to see just how stupid and laughable those grand ideas of heroism, victory, and winning really are. For me, it was not an enjoyable read, but that doesn't mean it's not a penetrating book.
A mixed bag of reviews - main takeaway was that it was a diffcult read though an interesting concept.
Easily one of my favorite books of all time.
So relevant, so widely applicable. Downright silliness at some parts but always with the underlying horror- using comedy to cope.
One of the most unique and original books I’ve ever read.
So relevant, so widely applicable. Downright silliness at some parts but always with the underlying horror- using comedy to cope.
One of the most unique and original books I’ve ever read.
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