Reviews tagging 'War'

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

76 reviews

mvegag's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

brom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I feel like this is one of this books that either you love or you hate. 

The writing style is witty and humorous,  the narrative a bit difficult to follow at times because it isn’t told chronologically and occasionally digresses, but it’s absolutely worth it.  

And not to drag on Richard Hooker again, but he wishes he could write like Joseph Heller.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, and War

Minor: Rape and Suicide

backyardjake's review against another edition

dark funny sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I *did not* find the majority of this book funny. Some of the humor was lost on me, due to a factor of language, different sense of it, things that haven't aged well (though I doubt they were meant to even at the time). What I did connect with was the dark nature underlying the events and paradoxes. The horror and reality of the situation the group was in, with their incompetent command and soul sucking bombing runs. No wonder the average character is a bit wacky. Entertaining the nonsensical makes more sense than the cruel truth of what can happen on mission and all the other unfair and repugnant things that fill the world.

Some thoughts:

-The Catch itself is a paradox that not only does not make sense, it is intentional for the purposes of exercising power. As we see later in the novel it does not just apply to flying. I do not believe it is explicitly stated but this is my take away. 
- I would like for Arrfy to be gelded, beat as badly as Bogs was in Shawshank Redemption, and then serve the majority of his life in the worst brig the military had available.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and War

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Police brutality

lemonfrog's review against another edition

challenging dark funny

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Vomit

julia_reads_more_now's review against another edition

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual assault

Minor: Gore

niacinamides's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

I couldn’t figure out a way to possibly rate this in stars. I loved this book, but I don’t know if I particularly liked it. I’m very glad I read it, but I don’t know if I could read it again. It’s an unbelievably well crafted book but I couldn’t fully see that until I was nearly 3/4 of the way through. I’ll think about the last quarter or so of this book for a long, long time. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, and War

corvuscorax's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective slow-paced

3.75

A fost o carte destul de greoaie, poate pentru că nu eram neapărat în starea potrivită ca să o citesc sau pentru că nu am trăit experiențe care să mă aducă mai aproape de subiect. Pe alături mi s-a părut o imitație ieftină a lui Kafka, dar alteori stilul lui Heller, înțesat de enumerări adjectivale ca un robinet din care curg ritmic picături, m-a vrăjit și mi s-a părut incredibil de dinamic. În a doua jumătate a cărții au fost cam 100 de pagini care mi s-au părut aproape intolerabile, dar finalul a fost excelent. Pare că o construcție pe alocuri îndoielnică se leagă în cele din urmă ca să ne dea un final care rezumă perfect cartea: sardonic, absurd, deplorabil. 

Parcă aș fi vrut ceva mai multă perseverență de la Heller și pe parcursul cărții - a fost genul de roman pentru care e nevoie de multă, multă răbdare, care este însă, în cele din urmă, răsplătită. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape

khalileymon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and War

krohnan's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Gore

Minor: War

klenda_vee's review against another edition

Extremely funny social commentary about the military, but I couldn’t sit through 20 hours of sex jokes; definitely just a personal preference, but the last three hours of the six I listened through (audiobook) all blurred together. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Bullying and Alcohol

The book is satire, and the tagged subjects in this book are there as satirical commentary on these subjects