Heller whipsaws you back and forth between hilarity and horror, conveying not so much the stunning immorality as the utter absurdity of war. When Clevinger accuses Yossarian of displaying disloyal sentiments that give comfort to the enemy, Yossarian explains, "The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on. And don't you ever forget that, because the longer you remember it, the longer you might live." ... "But Clevinger did forget, and now he was dead."

A comic masterpiece set in Italy in WWII [4 stars, bumped up 1 star for making me laugh so much]




“If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.”―Robert Frost


“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you” -- Joseph Heller, Catch-22


The book starts out with the primary character being assigned to censor letters that are going to folks back home from the soldiers staying at a military hospital. He invents games to make the task more fun, such as "death to all modifiers" (out came all adjectives and adverbs on every letter; the results are funny).



Perhaps this book is so funny because it's comic relief against the absurdities and horrors of war and all its casualties. While I laughed out loud at many points, I must say that I found it much akin to a rich dessert, to be read in moderation. It can become clownish/buffoonish at times. Yet, it's the only book, besides A Confederacy of Dunces, that has consistently made me laugh, many times loudly.



If you haven't read this book, it's a nice departure from the serious and the sad of much literary fare. I know literary fare is more true to life. Obviously. Yet, from the Greeks to Shakespeare, we humans have shown a desperate need and a true appreciation for laughter: usually it comes in the form of comic plays, musicals and comedy/romantic-comedy films. But every once in a while you can gather it in the narrative form. This is one of those times.

Catch-22, Joseph Heller

Catch-22 is a satirical novel by American author Joseph Heller.

He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961.

Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, describing events from the points of view of different characters.

The separate story lines are out of sequence so the timeline develops along with the plot.

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «کلک مرغابی»؛ «تبصره 22»؛ نویسنده: جوزف هلر؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز سیزدهم ماه آگوست سال2001میلادی

عنوان: کلک مرغابی؛ نویسنده: جوزف هلر؛ مترجم: کامبیز پاک فر؛ تهران، مرجان، 1378؛ دو جلد در یک مجلد؛ در 806ص؛ شابک9649049304؛ موضوع: جنگ جهانی دوم از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م

عنوان: تبصره 22؛ نویسنده: جوزف هلر؛ مترجم: حسن افشار؛ تهران، ماهی، 1393؛ در 552ص؛ شابک 9789642092000؛

عنوان: تبصره 22؛ نویسنده: جوزف هلر؛ مترجم: احسان نوروزی؛ تهران، چشمه، 1394؛ در 518ص؛ شابک: 9786002295613؛

اونا می‌خوان منو بکشن.؛
هیچ‌کس نمی‌خواد تو رو بکشه.؛
پس چرا به طرفم تیراندازی می‌کنن؟
اونا می‌خوان همه رو بکشن.؛
خب چه فرقی می‌کنه؟
پیدا کردن تکه ای که بتواند گوشه‌ ای از منطق رمان «تبصره 22» باشد، کار ناممکن یا دشواری است، شاید گفتگوی بالا نزدیک‌ترین بخش داستان به این انتظار باشد؛ «یوسارین»، افسر نیروی هوایی «آمریکا»، تصمیم گرفته، دیگر جانش را به خطر نیندازد، و پرواز نکند، چون احساس می‌کند ضدهوایی‌های دشمن قصد دارند او را بکشند؛ اما همکارش اینگونه نمی‌اندیشد، چون باور دارد سربازان دشمن قصد دارند همه را بکشند؛ این درست همان‌جایی است، که کشمکش اصلی داستان «تبصره 22» شکل می‌گیرد؛ «یوسارین» دیگر به جنگ، به چشم یک رخداد اجتماعی نگاه نمی‌کند، بلکه جنگ برای او مسئله‌ ای کاملا فردی است؛ طبعا اگر همه آدم‌های متخاصم در دو طرف یک جنگ، می‌توانستند مثل «یوسارین» جنگ را فردی ببینند، هیچ جنگی آن‌قدرها پا نمی‌گرفت؛ و به کشتار نمیانجامید؛

ذات جنگ، اساسا بر ایده ی گذشتن از فرد، و قرار گرفتن در خدمت یک اجتماع، یا یک ایده و باور، استوار است؛ ترفند اصلی «جوزف هلر»، نگارنده، برای زیر پرسش بردن برهان جنگ، همان بازگشت به فردیت کسانی است، که قرار است سربازان جنگ باشند؛ مسئله باورهای فردی، در برابر اجتماع جنگ‌جو، نقطه مرکزی رمان «هلر» است، که در همه جای رمان جاری شده، و به فرم آن نیز نشت کرده است؛ فرمی که منتقدان بسیاری، این نگارش را نپسندیده اند؛ اما این نیز هست که رمان «تبصره‌‌ ی 22» اثر «جوزف هلر» را، به همراه «برهنه‌ ها و مرده‌ ها» اثر «نورمن میلر»، و «سلاخ‌ خانه‌ ی شماره پنج» اثر «کورت ونه‌ گات»؛ یکی از سه اثر ادبیات ضد جنگ «آمریکا» بنوشته اند

نویسندگان هر سه رمان، به نوعی در رخدادهای جنگ جهانگیر دوم، شرکت داشته‌، و جنگ را از نزدیک تجربه کرده‌ اند؛ «جوزف هِلـِر» که فرزند خانواده‌ ای مهاجر، از «یهودیان روس‌ تبار» بودند، در سال 1942میلادی در سن نوزده سالگی، به ارتش «آمریکا» پیوستند، و در سال‌های پایانی جنگ، به عنوان بمب‌ انداز هواپیماهای «بی‌.52»؛ در شصت ماموریت جنگی شرکت کردند (در هواپیماهای آن دوره خلبانی، ناوبری و مسیریابی، و هدف‌یابی برای انداختن بمب؛ هر یک مسئول جداگانه‌ داشت)؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 16/06/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 24/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

This is a re-read as part of an occasional foray back to favourites from the past.

Bought in 1981 - it predates college, career, my wife, my children. My copy is a little battered, the spine sunburnt from a vivid red to a light pink. The pages are liver spotted and the book has that musty old bookshop smell. It has followed me from my parents home, to college and on to five addresses in Cambridge. I have read this book many times, but had not touched it for several years.

Yossarian is a bombardier in the USAF. He has a problem. Everyone is trying to kill him - the Germans, the Italians, his own colleagues. Part of the problem is that every time he reaches enough combat missions to be sent home his zealous superiors raise the threshold to make themselves look good.

Heller does a great job in exposing the sheer futility of war, the waste of men and materiel and the cynical distortion of the war effort by self aggrandising and self seeking "leaders" - usually from the comfort of a desk far behind the front line.

The book is confusing, rumbustious, freewheeling, funny, repetitive, wise and weary. Underlying it all is the idea of Catch 22 - basically "they" (the authorities) can do anything to you that you cannot stop them doing to you.

Perhaps the best way to give a flavour of the book is to provide a few quotes


“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.

"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.”



“You have a morbid aversion to dying. You probably resent the fact that you're at war and might get your head blown off any second."

"I more than resent it, sir. I'm absolutely incensed."

"You have deep-seated survival anxieties. And you don't like bigots, bullies, snobs, or hypocrites. Subconsciously there are many people you hate."

"Consciously, sir, consciously," Yossarian corrected in an effort to help. "I hate them consciously."

"You're antagonistic to the idea of being robbed, exploited, degraded, humiliated, or deceived. Misery depresses you. Ignorance depresses you. Persecution depresses you. Violence depresses you. Corruption depresses you. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if you're a manic-depressive!"

"Yes, sir. Perhaps I am."

"Don't try to deny it."

"I'm not denying it, sir," said Yossarian, pleased with the miraculous rapport that finally existed between them. "I agree with all you've said.”



“From now on I'm thinking only of me."

Major Danby replied indulgently with a superior smile: "But, Yossarian, suppose everyone felt that way."

"Then," said Yossarian, "I'd certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn't I?”



The book is chock full of outrageous characters, amongst my favourites are:

Milo Minderbinder - the mess officer who creates a vast black market paean to free enterprise which somehow involves bombing his own side for a fee from the Germans

Major Major Major Major - destined to be a major by virtue of his name alone, with the help of a confused IBM mainframe

General Scheisskopf - a martinet interested only in parades who is promoted far beyond his competence

Chief White Halfoat - an itinerant native American - his family was moved on from wherever they tried to settle as oil was struck as soon as they stopped there

A great book. Do read it

This book is very overrated. Frankly, it is just bad. Why do some people constantly call this one of the greatest books of the 20th century? One of the world's greatest mysteries. If you want to read a good war satire, read Slautherhouse-Five by ole man Vonnegut. It is still not the best, but surely is at least two times (if not three) better than this weird Heller thing.

Years ago, while I was (unsuccessfully) searching for a job in the Middle East, I met a career consultant.

"How do I land a job in the Middle East?" I asked.

"Well, for that you need experience," he told me, scratching his chin.

"But I have eighteen years of experience!" I protested.

"That may be so," he said. "What I meant was - you need Gulf experience."

"But I can't get that unless I get a job in the Gulf," I pointed out.

"Yes, I know." He said serenely. "You see, that's the catch..."

Here is my more in-depth review:
https://youtu.be/RcT_gSiCY8k

Sorry, I don't get it. So many circular conversations that at the outset we know aren't going anywhere. Too many characters to care about any of them. Failed as a moving war novel and failed as a comedic novel. It just wasn't funny!

Almost 20 hours on the audiobook, and I wish I could get those units of my life back.

2025 Reading Schedule
JantA Town Like Alice
FebtBirdsong
MartCaptain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
AprtWar and Peace
MaytThe Woman in White
JuntAtonement
JultThe Shadow of the Wind
AugtJude the Obscure
SeptUlysses
OcttVanity Fair
NovtA Fine Balance
DectGerminal

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I've not been pulled through the spectrum of emotion quite as enjoyably as this in some time, with Heller ingeniously switching tones on a dime with a magician's charm. One moment I was giggling and the next my jaw was clenched at descriptions of war. Thankfully for my taste, Heller leaned more on the comedic side.

Reading Catch-22 was sort of like watching a brilliantly shining coin flip in slow motion over the course of a majestic parabola, making its way to the ground with the weight of someone's fate resting on whichever side it falls on. But it's not a gimmick; both tones are crucial and equally pleasing throughout the story.

Catch-22 definitely wasn't perfect, but it's close. It reminded me of a Confederacy of Dunces with scenes many people simply won't laugh at without possessing a certain sense of humor. It just is what it is—taste, like all art. And at times, if you don't lock into the tone, it can be a bit to wrangle. But if you rise above the chaos and insanity and tune into the frequency, you'll enjoy it thoroughly.

Yossarian and Dunbar pretty much represent how my friends and I would have handled a similar situation—with a sane amount of insanity necessary in the face of such horror and idiocy. Yossarian has to be the best anti-hero I've come across, and the way Heller is able to spin illogical conversations, rules, and situations into logical nonsense and back again is simply fantastic.

I'm rambling now, but it's truly laugh-out-loud great. Among too many to name, Clevinger's interrogation and the moaning at the briefing were comedic gold. But if you're not in it for the humor you can rest assured it's certainly an "intellectual" book as well. In fact, often the humor is funny in the way that things can only be funny once they cross that line of pure horror and absurdity and there's nothing left to do but laugh. But it touches on all of life's "Big" questions in its own way, and there's plenty of psychology to examine—just filtered through absurd bureaucracy and the evils of war. And I must say, the final scene with Snowden was incredible.

I really can't say enough about this beauty, so trust me and see for yourself. This was my second attempt to read it after ditching it about 30 pages in a year ago. And honestly part of that first failure was likely due to having read all of the bashing reviews before starting and letting them paint my perception. But it's all in the eye of the beholder, and all that jazz, and once I settled and gave it an honest shot it took off. So I highly recommend giving it a chance. Certainly glad I did.

I also think Heller's prose is underrated; there were some lines in there that knocked me out. I'll definitely read this again and always recommend it to friends. This one pulled me in so well that it's one of the rare books that's genuinely made me wish characters were killed off painfully....fucking Milo.

☁️ There there, said Yossarian to the dying man, in their plane in the clouds, there there … it was all he could do, all he could say …

Half satire, rife with sarcasm and black humor, and half war novel - war horror that will cut you to the bone.

It’s two books. It’s as if halfway, after hundreds of pages of dark-style satire, the author decides to show the reader why Yossarian is using humor to protect himself. Suddenly we are in the war zone and planes are being shot out of the sky. Men are dying in Yossarian’s arms. And he begins to crack.

Once you get it, at the beginning, you laugh.

Once you get it, at the end, you break and cry.

☀️ A masterpiece.


[Heller was a WW2 vet and completed 60 missions in the Army Air Forces in the Mediterranean. The Army Air Forces became the USAF in 1947.]

This book is so true, it's ridiculous. This book is so false, it's maddening.
Yossarian, our unlikely hero along with his fellow bedmates in a military hospital and later with his platoon , lives amidst shelling, explosions, flying body parts and one very bonkers mess cook. He's an escapist, a realist, a leader and in cases even a pervert turned wannabe saviour. He is mad and then logical, depraved and then conscientious;but all throughout you shall love him.
Catch22 is ingenious, hilarious; even though at times it can be bound to repetitive. Of course, some are bound to be exasperated by the way the entire book seems to be a testament to the different ways Heller can make use of the phrase 'catch - 22' but persevere and you shall be rewarded with complex and dazzling characters and an utterly ridiculous, gruesome and novel plot!
No wonder it made the BBC 100 booklist challenge!

Грандіозна книга. Важка і смішна. Сатирична, сюрреалістична, трагічна... Після прочитання неможливо залишитися "незміненим". Буквально перевернула мене.

I believe that the novel Catch-22 is the best antiwar satire ever created and it boasts the unique disdainful atmosphere that is practically inimitable.
Army turns an individual into a puppet on strings and the book is a marionette theatre of such puppets where the protagonist seems to be the only person capable to possess true human feelings.

He was going to live forever, or die in the attempt.

The value of a human life is above all so life and war are incompatible.