erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I knew that this was a story about war, but I really had n idea what sort of flavour it was going to have. The whole idea of Catch-22 as I understood it, is that a crazy person is not fit for military duty, but to claim that you are crazy, so as to get out of service, just proves that you are sane.
This is a dark and twisted comedy. The dialogues feel like a twisted conglomeration of Monty Python, Alice in Wonderland, and M* A* S* H* with a peppering of Dr Seuss, Billy Wilder, and Abbot and Costello. From the outset you feel sure that the protagonist is a little mentally unwell, and slightly paranoid, but you soon see that there is a lot of it going around, and that they are all crazy like foxes. I kept being reminded of that quote from the movie Pump up the Volume, "you're not screwed up.. you're an un-screwed up reaction to a screwed up situation".
I think this book is about equal parts gut-bustingly hilarious and unsettlingly horrific. Through satire and parody it jabs ceaselessly at the heroism of industry and Capitalism, corruption, the glory of war murder, the need to rescue women who are in charge of their own lives, the confusion of love and lust, confusion, certainty, certain confusions, and confusing certainty.
Parts of the story are clearly hyperbole. The absurdism is rife. I'm astounded that I haven't heard more of the punchlines of these jokes in my everyday life, but maybe I have and I was just not keyed into it. It's all incredibly convoluted. The story is told in anecdotes from the points of view of various people around the protagonist. There are recurrent gags, and retellings of parts of the plot from different people, and this all feeds into the feeling of being unsettlingly adrift, and carrying on through a haze of unreality peppered with déjà vu (or déjà vécu, or presque vu..) where you see things twice, or miss them altogether.
The entire army situation is painted as blustering generals vying for status, while underfunded and overworked conscripts are roped into unwinnable situations, glory projects cost lives, bureaucratic shuffling means everything is officially lost in translation, or redacted, or just lost, and side-hustlers make out like bandits. Every sensible supposition is questioned and turned on its head, even the useful ones.. and it's all incredibly frustrating. You have to laugh or you cry and that combat, high-tension gallows humour is all you are left with... that and the haunting echos of trauma.
This is probably well worth a reread, or I may leave it on as background noise if I want a certain sort of dark chuckle.
This is a dark and twisted comedy. The dialogues feel like a twisted conglomeration of Monty Python, Alice in Wonderland, and M* A* S* H* with a peppering of Dr Seuss, Billy Wilder, and Abbot and Costello. From the outset you feel sure that the protagonist is a little mentally unwell, and slightly paranoid, but you soon see that there is a lot of it going around, and that they are all crazy like foxes. I kept being reminded of that quote from the movie Pump up the Volume, "you're not screwed up.. you're an un-screwed up reaction to a screwed up situation".
I think this book is about equal parts gut-bustingly hilarious and unsettlingly horrific. Through satire and parody it jabs ceaselessly at the heroism of industry and Capitalism, corruption, the glory of war murder, the need to rescue women who are in charge of their own lives, the confusion of love and lust, confusion, certainty, certain confusions, and confusing certainty.
Parts of the story are clearly hyperbole. The absurdism is rife. I'm astounded that I haven't heard more of the punchlines of these jokes in my everyday life, but maybe I have and I was just not keyed into it. It's all incredibly convoluted. The story is told in anecdotes from the points of view of various people around the protagonist. There are recurrent gags, and retellings of parts of the plot from different people, and this all feeds into the feeling of being unsettlingly adrift, and carrying on through a haze of unreality peppered with déjà vu (or déjà vécu, or presque vu..) where you see things twice, or miss them altogether.
The entire army situation is painted as blustering generals vying for status, while underfunded and overworked conscripts are roped into unwinnable situations, glory projects cost lives, bureaucratic shuffling means everything is officially lost in translation, or redacted, or just lost, and side-hustlers make out like bandits. Every sensible supposition is questioned and turned on its head, even the useful ones.. and it's all incredibly frustrating. You have to laugh or you cry and that combat, high-tension gallows humour is all you are left with... that and the haunting echos of trauma.
This is probably well worth a reread, or I may leave it on as background noise if I want a certain sort of dark chuckle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, War, Bullying, Chronic illness, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Colonisation, Cursing, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
allyofshalott's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
Okay - after finishing this I understand why it has the position it does in ~literature, but this was a slog for me. Funny and emotionally affecting at times, but took a while for me to see the pattern because of the lack of plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, War, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Medical content, and Grief
friesenag's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
This book is so interesting considering that the author himself was a B25 bombardier and that this is not speculation and the plot isn't too far fetched because it is based on his personal experiences in the war. I think Heller perfectly balanced the humor of the absurdity of how the U.S. Air Force was run and the gruesomeness of what war does to a person. He highlights the silliness of rank and order and doing things just because you're told and how that has more control on weather a man lives or dies rather than his own actions and how those actions along with the trauma of their compatriots dying makes them all go insane.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs, Misogyny, Suicide, Rape, and War
Minor: Medical content and Murder
addictedtoanntations's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
absolutely adored this book. It takes risks, is raw, dark, satirical, funny, with the wittiest dialogue I’ve ever read. It doesn’t shy away from showing grit, and morally questionable sides of war, from violence, to how institutions are run, to prostitution. To this day it draws parallels to flaws in today’s society which was refreshing, eye-opening, and terrifying all into one. Phenomenal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Cursing, Racial slurs, War, and Sexual content
Minor: Terminal illness and Sexual assault
bibliorama's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-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
3.0
This might change. The beast is done though.
Enjoyment - 2.5
This book really takes awhile before it starts trusting you with its emotional baggage. Most of the humor was used to mask the trauma that Joseph Heller was definitely processing through the writing. The 12 year old virgin jokes got old, milo running around got old, etc. In fact, the Milo the Mayor chapter should have been cut entirely (imo), it has some of the most dated jokes and the important info learned from the chapter is reiterated in the Milo chapter. There were heavy, poignant moments but they were covered up by the writing style and dated humor.
Characters - 3
Atmosphere - 2.5
Plot - 3
Ending - 4
Style - 3.5
Overall - 3
Enjoyment - 2.5
This book really takes awhile before it starts trusting you with its emotional baggage. Most of the humor was used to mask the trauma that Joseph Heller was definitely processing through the writing. The 12 year old virgin jokes got old, milo running around got old, etc. In fact, the Milo the Mayor chapter should have been cut entirely (imo), it has some of the most dated jokes and the important info learned from the chapter is reiterated in the Milo chapter. There were heavy, poignant moments but they were covered up by the writing style and dated humor.
Characters - 3
Atmosphere - 2.5
Plot - 3
Ending - 4
Style - 3.5
Overall - 3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and War
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape
paperknotbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I think the only flaw is that this book is just joke, after joke, which drags a bit long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, War, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Gore and Sexual content
cgibson25's review against another edition
They used the n-word and the plot didn't seem to be moving anywhere. The narrator didn't have a good personality and the speech was extremely repetitive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
elmewhy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
~~2.5 Stars~~ 11th September 2022
*rounded to 3 stars
I think it’s fair to say that this review is a modern Gen Z take on a classic that was not written for me or for people of my time. This book was just not for me. While I appreciate that this book was written at a different time, I couldn’t forgive some parts of it. I decided to split my review into a pro and con list.
Pro
It’s a classic for a reason. The origins and concept of the term ‘Catch 22’ is genius. After researching this book, I can see why it was so popular, especially with young people during the Vietnam War.
War Representation. I did appreciate the insanity of war portrayal and the desperateness this led to. I’ve not seen a lot of portrayals of this in classic or modern media, and it was an interesting take to see.
Format. Polarising, but I enjoyed the format. It is disjointed with sporadic short stories mentioned, which are revealed later in the book, the re-read ability is huge, and you can reread parts with a brand new understanding. There are many characters, but this format taught me whos who much more quickly. Although not comparable, I did get a Grand Budapest Hotel vibe from the format/humour/visualisation.
Con
Misogyny. There’s a lot of this; in fact, I don’t believe a female character is mentioned in a way that wasn’t sexual or perverse or made them out to be less than deranged. Here are some examples:
One character is named “Nately’s Whore”, who is a prop prostitute for a character until they get mentioned more and becomes a psycho stalker killer. Lots of inappropriate touching, mostly sexual assault and the women don’t always seem to care?! Mentions of underage women (as young as 12) and virgins are sexualised - although we never see this, it is idolised heavy. **Trigger!** A very heartless and glossed-over mention of a rape where the female dies from it and gets thrown out of a window, with no consequence even though the police turn up, but they chose to focus on other topics rather than the raped and murdered women lying in the street.
Racism. N-word usage - only really in the beginning. Again, something which is more prominent in older books as it was the norm during this time but does not hold up in the modern day.
Humour. I just did not get the humour, there were parts in which I thought ohh I get why people think it's funny, but I definitely wouldn’t call this hilarious. The humour was repetitive (the same word play humour beat to death), the context was just not funny, and, for me, the misogynistic, classism and racist overtones overshadowed the book for it to be funny.
If you’re a fan of adult-level pantomime jokes, you’ll be fine.
Ultimately, while you get to say you’ve read this notorious classical book and boast to all your friends that you’re smart and read more than YA/fantasy/preferred genre, you actually have to put yourself through it - so how’s that for a Catch 22?
*rounded to 3 stars
I think it’s fair to say that this review is a modern Gen Z take on a classic that was not written for me or for people of my time. This book was just not for me. While I appreciate that this book was written at a different time, I couldn’t forgive some parts of it. I decided to split my review into a pro and con list.
Pro
It’s a classic for a reason. The origins and concept of the term ‘Catch 22’ is genius. After researching this book, I can see why it was so popular, especially with young people during the Vietnam War.
War Representation. I did appreciate the insanity of war portrayal and the desperateness this led to. I’ve not seen a lot of portrayals of this in classic or modern media, and it was an interesting take to see.
Format. Polarising, but I enjoyed the format. It is disjointed with sporadic short stories mentioned, which are revealed later in the book, the re-read ability is huge, and you can reread parts with a brand new understanding. There are many characters, but this format taught me whos who much more quickly. Although not comparable, I did get a Grand Budapest Hotel vibe from the format/humour/visualisation.
Con
Misogyny. There’s a lot of this; in fact, I don’t believe a female character is mentioned in a way that wasn’t sexual or perverse or made them out to be less than deranged. Here are some examples:
One character is named “Nately’s Whore”, who is a prop prostitute for a character until they get mentioned more and becomes a psycho stalker killer. Lots of inappropriate touching, mostly sexual assault and the women don’t always seem to care?! Mentions of underage women (as young as 12) and virgins are sexualised - although we never see this, it is idolised heavy. **Trigger!** A very heartless and glossed-over mention of a rape where the female dies from it and gets thrown out of a window, with no consequence even though the police turn up, but they chose to focus on other topics rather than the raped and murdered women lying in the street.
Racism. N-word usage - only really in the beginning. Again, something which is more prominent in older books as it was the norm during this time but does not hold up in the modern day.
Humour. I just did not get the humour, there were parts in which I thought ohh I get why people think it's funny, but I definitely wouldn’t call this hilarious. The humour was repetitive (the same word play humour beat to death), the context was just not funny, and, for me, the misogynistic, classism and racist overtones overshadowed the book for it to be funny.
If you’re a fan of adult-level pantomime jokes, you’ll be fine.
Ultimately, while you get to say you’ve read this notorious classical book and boast to all your friends that you’re smart and read more than YA/fantasy/preferred genre, you actually have to put yourself through it - so how’s that for a Catch 22?
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Racial slurs, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
southcarolina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A masterpiece. The themes of the book bleed directly into Heller’s circular writing style and dialogue. Events are non-linear, even repeated over again. Eventually you begin to understand the characters you once saw as crazy, and Yossarian’s revelation at the end of the book hit me as it hit him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and War
Minor: Rape, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment