When the title of a book enters the English language that puts it on my reading list right away. What constitutes 'sanity' for men in war is problematic on two levels: 1). - who put them in this situation (war) and 2). - what would a 'sane' person do to get out of the situation. Another book I think should be on a 'congressional reading list'.

Life would be beautiful if it wasn't for the war; Captain John Yossarian is not happy, flying in an U.S. Army B-25 plane as a bombardier during WW2 ... continuous take- offs and landings on the small Italian island of Pianosa near the west coast of Italy is no real fun ( the isle in reality was too small for runways). Flak may seem pretty in the sky, from below, however above...but to Yo Yo his nickname, the anti- aircraft fire will pulverize you into tiny bits of unrecognizable
debris... Thought he was a loyal American until ambitious Colonel Cathcart raises combat missions from 25 to 30 ... 35... 40..50..55..60...70...maybe soon 80 ? The cold Colonel Korn his second in command urges more missions if his boss desires to become a general, a sacrifice they are willing to take for their men, after all both stay on terra firma .... A man could be killed around here thinks Mr. Yossarian and not thrilled about such a prospect.That occurs to him when he notices most of his friends are dying in the strife and not eager to join the unliving, can he just go home? The nervous warrior invariably seeks admittance to the hospital, a frequent visitor to get out of flying other times
has real wounds not always from the enemy, now needs to escape from the island yet the people he meets there, doctors, nurses and especially patients are more unhinged than he... The strange one is covered from head to foot in bandages or plaster, creeps the others out with just a minuscule entrance to breath, like a whale's blowhole, alive maybe..that's highly debatable. Nevertheless a certain nurse attracts him, there is joy in the most unpromising situations and nurse Duckett is attractive ...And swimming in the sea and laying on the beach with her has its compensations... Be understanding some advise this , ( there are shortages of qualified airmen for combat duty ) including Chaplain Tappman, a man not sure of his own duty; war or peace... like everyone else he desires to get back to America.. Milo Minderbinde , Captain Yossarian mysterious pal emerges from the mess hall to stardom as the always conniving entrepreneur doing deals, doesn't matter if they are enemies, business is business and the object is to make money. Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Portugal, Sicily anywhere where there is a buck to make and planes can reach, he thrives in the madness. Still while the airmen live, Yossarian and friends travel to Rome for relaxation and the best way is...finding loose women those not too particular about looks or manners or clean rooms and wild ways , will tolerate much for gratuities... Everybody calls everyone crazy in the book which is quite accurate, war is insane but never unfashionable, some believe this will happen on Earth for perpetuity ... Joseph Heller's anti- war black comedy classic has given the world the phrase catch-22 meaning a dilemma, whatever you choose you lose. This novel though not for all, is a magnificent trip into the horrors of brutal mindless discord you have to laugh, in order to survive..

I’m again working on fulfilling my challenge to myself to re-read classics that I haven’t read in decades. This time, it’s Catch 22. I had remembered really enjoying this when I read it in high school. But now, I’m in awe that my English teacher assigned this to a group of 17/18 year old girls. It’s just as hysterical as I remember, but now I have a much greater appreciation for the wordplay and satire involved. I have to think a lot of this probably initially went over my head. This isn’t just dark, it’s black absurdist comedy. It plays like an endless loop of variations of “Who’s on First”.
Heller totally captures the insanity of war. Catch 22 has become a part of our ixiom. The total inescapability that contradicting rules sets up. For example, you’re crazy if you keep flying missions. But if you ask to stop flying, you’re sane enough to have to keep flying.
The pace here is frantic. Listening to this, I quickly realized I had to pay attention every second. Those who have only seen the movie or series have missed the backstories of each character, which were some of the funniest parts of the book.
Nothing is off limits. Heller tackles bureaucracy, private enterprise, medicine, religion and optimism. And that’s just in a single chapter.
The narrator, Jay Sanders, was spot on perfect. I was amazed at his ability to give a different voice to this wide range of characters.

I read this in 2017.

I finally finished this landmark book, and it’s one of the most horrifyingly gruesome novels I've read on the casualties of war.

It's also to be said, darkly humorous with satire dripping all over it's pages. Scenes of the absurd and implausible seem to rule Yossarian's world, amidst the backdrop of shady profiteers such as Milo; sassy prostitutes, and sociopathic men without any moral compass.

I felt it’s really relevant to the political climate of today- President Trump's administration, full of buffoons, the insane, and straightforward alternative universes where there is no truth beyond the horrible lies and gaslighting. It's timely indeed I read this.

Hands down, this is the funniest book I've ever read. Some of Heller's sentences are so witty and hilarious that I had to not only laugh out loud, but set the book down after trying to continue on--and laugh out loud some more to fully appreciate all the wit. That being said, the style of humor gets old. After a while, it feels like reading Seinfeld screenplays for hours on end.

The crazy ironic predicaments Yosarian, the focal character, finds himself in are pure genius. And some of the subplots in this novel are better than classics in and of themselves. But, even with that in mind, Catch-22 is incredibly complex. The chapters can at times feel like puzzle pieces that don't connect to anything else. The beginning, although entertaining as hell, is particularly convoluted. For the first ten chapters or so, it feels like character introduction after character introduction--like there's no plot until about 30% of the way through the book...

Partly because of that, the story loses it's impact, but more so because it's so damn funny it's hard to take serious. Even though the characters will stay in your mind forever, it's hard to care about them because they're SUCH characters to a point they feel unreal.

Am I saying this isn't a masterpiece? No. It's more confusing than a riddle at times, and I'm sure I missed some important things. But even still, there's only maybe two other books I'd rather have read than this.

This is the best book I've ever read.

It keeps me out of trouble.

I first read it in high school, senior year AP Lit. We read it alongside Kafka's The Metamorphosis and had engaging discussions about what the hell was going on (in the books and in life itself), culminating in a detailed "compare and contrast" essay.

I read it again on my own the next year, my freshman year at college, just for fun.

I read it a third time my junior year, and actually recited a section as a dramatic reading in my Oral Comm class.

I read it again shortly before graduating, then again shortly after landing my first job as an English teacher, then I bought a copy for my classroom library in case some precocious student wanted to pick it up on their own.

I read it twice more after moving to a new state, once cover to cover and once again in semi-random excerpts, starting with whatever page I happened to thumb to.

I read it as my 52nd book of 2016, the last one to complete my 2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge. What can I say? More than 60 years after publication and it hasn't lost any of its charm, or its poignancy, or its power. More than any other book, this one has shaped my worldview. I love the wordplay, how perfectly beauracracy is skewered and mocked, how relentlessly logical thinking leads to illogical ends. I love how it makes you stop and think and appreciate, how it reminds us of the fleeting nature of life and of the value of living. I love how it encourages us to question everything: authority, beauracracy, faith, government, society. Just who the hell is in charge, and what the hell are they doing, and where the hell do I fit in? I love the ending, the final masterful decision Yossarian makes to stop being a pawn and make himself a king -- more than that, to leave the game and its arbitrary rules altogether.

I love this book.

So, I will read it again, and this review will get a little longer, and I will always affirm:

This is the best book I have ever read.

It keeps me out of trouble.

It seems like just about every Must-Read book list has Catch-22 on it. I've been thinking for awhile that I should at least attempt it, since it appears on so many of those lists but it just sounded like something I would find utterly boring. A novel set in an army camp during WWII about some bombardier and his squadron? Nah, not something I have much interest in.

Last week, as I was looking for my classic-of-the-month for August, I decided why not just give in and read this? If I absolutely hated it then I could mark it abandoned and be done with it. I'd at least have given it a try. Much to my delight, I found that this book is right up my alley! Yeh, it might be about a bunch of army dudes but it is funny!! Prepared to be bored, I was surprised to find myself laughing on the very first page.

Catch-22 is brilliant and clever, insightful and witty. Occasionally it felt a little long and could have done with a better edit, but then two pages later I'd be laughing again and not minding the length at all. It is satire and pokes fun at the absurdity of war, nationalism, patriotism, and religion. For instance, in war there are no winners. In war, everyone loses. As for god..... in my favourite passage of the book, Yosserian delcares,

"Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements?"

How can you not love that!!

At times philosophical and at almost all times funny, Catch-22 makes you think as it makes you laugh. It is deserving of all those Must-Read lists it appears on and if it's not on yours, it should be! 4.5 stars rounded up.

Still a stone cold classic. Loved every page of it.

Early In my adulthood I learned that to be considered crazy and be given asylum from my superiors in an establishment catering to lunatics, I had first to be proven crazy enough to be excused from my Alpha Male immediate superior's stiff medicine.

Catch-22.

In my twenties, I had an enormous problem with Yossarian… because he was me. I LIVED Catch-22 in my brain and in my private life.

For years, every time I’d pick this battered paperback from off my shelf, I would laugh at first. But then, my chuckles choked me up!

WHY did it make me angry?

There must be a perfectly plausible and logical explanation in my grossly medicated memory!

And there was… but in itself that explanation is so Implausibly Logical that it itself could be none other than -

A Catch-22.

A desperately CHOKING Catch-22.

A Catch-22 that can bury you alive, and I don’t just mean in endless forms completed in block letters and in triplicate.

No, a Catch-22 that can SUFFOCATE you. Happened to me fifty-one years ago…

When I admitted myself to hospital, I must have signed the doctors’ OWN Catch-22, to whit: ‘I’m crazy to let myself enter this Hell-hole; but if I should become sane later on - and try to get myself released - I Can't,' because I can’t be sane if I run from predators' stiff medicine into a Nut House.

“Haha. So there -

“Catch-22… You’re stuck with us, Fergus.”

And yes, of course, they took turns gently giving me my stiff treatments while there.

I think it was the ferociously cool dude von Clausewitz who once infamously told us that the modern world is run on a militaristic model: as an Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove. The Ministry of Peace.

Well, that velvet glove dupes us to the fact that we’re being used, and our choking chuckles PROVE we’re insane. As I was therefore proved insane: Catch-22.

So How could I be sane?

Especially with my doctors’ immediate use of heavy neuroleptics that made me, temporarily, the opposite. Sounds crazy? Then I WAS legally crazy -

BBB. BS Baffles Brains. Bingo!

Happy Catch-22, Fergus.

Never mind that I was hounded into that place by sexual predators: I was sane, so therefore I must be crazy. Catch-22, Fergus. You were CRAZY to come here. Haha.

If you wake up, that’s, well… forbidden. But we have Some Supplements to ensure you never do. If you perchance DO wake up, no one really cares.

You’re cornered.

Catch-22.

How do you think the incredible author, Joseph Heller, saw all this so plainly?

Because he couldn’t be a War Hero and a Peace Protestor at one and the same time. Catch-22, my friends. Pleased to meet you, Herr von Clausewitz, old bud.

But then… Heller wrote it all down, so that the Blind might have Eyes to See.

Catch-22:

Tag and You’re IT.

READ IT!

And you’ll SEE, for a change.

As I did after all my hard knocks.

And the only option then is the Grace that makes everything OK.

This took longer than I wanted to take but I was on a busy walking holiday. However, it’s a type of book to savour in short bursts and the humour is brilliant and clever.

Onto the next book, you know one good apple can spoil the rest.

I initially gave this book 4 stars based on my memory of having read it something like 40 years ago, which remained a pretty vivid memory, actually, in that I recalled the story and tone of the book in my re-reading of it, but this time through I liked it even better, found it crazy and darkly hilarious, increasingly dark and absurd and centered on Catch 22 as absurd cosmic comi-tragic joke. Devastatingly sad as the absurdity turns darker. This is a big, messy, crazy, wonderful, amazing book, one of the great anti-war novels of all time. Hell, it is one of the great novels of all time! Modern library lists it as #7 in the 100 best novels of the twentieth century. Most 20th century lists have it near the top, and rereading it, I am sure they are right. So you like a good war? Find it bracing to get a whiff of napalm in the morning? Read this book or any other book about war, please.

Παίρνεις ένα βιβλίο που έχεις ακούσει από κάπου κάπως κάποτε ότι είναι πολύ καλό, ότι είναι αντιπολεμικό, ότι μεγάλη μερίδα των αναγνωστών το θεωρεί αριστούργημα, αλλά δεν έχεις προετοιμαστεί για αυτή τη βόμβα πνευματωδους χιούμορ, ωμής σάτιρας, ιδιοφυούς απεικόνισης της τρέλας, του παραλογισμού, της φρίκης. Το αρχίζεις σιγά σιγά και σκας ένα χαμόγελο εδώ, ένα νευρικό γέλιο εκεί, γιατί έχει χιούμορ, δεν μπορείς να το αρνηθείς, σε κάνει να γελάς, αλλά ξέρεις ότι κάτι δεν πάει καλά γιατί ταυτόχρονα θέλεις και να κλάψεις. Ένας κόμπος ανεβαίνει στο λαιμό όσο προχωράς παρακάτω και σφίγγει όλο και περισσότερο και συνεχίζεις να γελάς αλλά ταυτόχρονα θέλεις όλο και περισσότερο να γείρεις κάπου για να κλάψεις με λυγμούς γιατί ναι, είναι σουρεαλιστικό, είναι παράλογο, είναι αστείο, αλλά είναι και τόσο αληθινό.

Η ιστορία είναι κάπως χαλαρή. Σε μια σμηναρχία της αμερικανικής αεροπορίας στο νησί Πιενόζα της Ιταλίας το 1944, παρακολουθούμε την ιστορία των Αμερικανών στρατιωτών και κυρίως του Γιοσάριαν, του βομβαρδιστή που είναι πεπεισμένος ότι όλοι προσπαθούν να τον δολοφονήσουν και εκείνος παλεύει να σώσει τη ζωή του. Γύρω του φιλόδοξοι αξιωματικοί ρισκάρουν άσκοπα τη ζωή των κατωτέρων τους, η μαύρη αγορά ανθεί, ο παραλογισμός της στρατιωτικής λογικής και του πολέμου επικρατεί, ο ιδεαλισμός κάποιων λίγων συντρίβεται βάναυσα.

Ο Heller περιγράφει τις ζωές και το θάνατο κάποιων από τα μέλη του σμήνους, τους φόβους και τις ανησυχίες τους, τις σκέψεις και τα συναισθήματά τους με βάση τη δική του εμπειρία από το δεύτερο παγκόσμιο πόλεμο και με τρόπο τόσο άμεσο και γλαφυρό που ο αναγνώστης σίγουρα βλέπει στον καθρέφτη κάποιες από τις δικές του σκέψεις (κι αν ακόμα δεν έχει δει ποτέ του πόλεμο). Καταφέρνει να αποδίδει με κωμικό τρόπο αλλά και σεβασμό τις πιο τραγικές σκηνές και να ξεγυμνώνει με αυτόν τον τρόπο το συναίσθημα του αναγνώστη χωρίς να το εκβιάζει.

Είναι ένα αριστούργημα το catch-22, οπωσδήποτε. Σατιρικό, εξοργιστικο, ευαίσθητο, αστείο, τραγικό. Έχει τα πάντα και ταυτόχρονα είναι τόσο δεμένο και τόσο συνεκτικό που δε βαριέσαι ούτε δευτερόλεπτο. Εχθές διάβασα 300 σελίδες (το μισό) και εύχομαι να είχα αφήσει λίγο ακόμα για σήμερα. Θα το ξαναδιαβάσω όμως, σίγουρα. Είναι από τα λίγο βιβλία που το λέω αυτό με βεβαιότητα και θα το ξαναδιαβάσω.

PS: Είμαι σίγουρη ότι αυτό το βιβλίο το είχε διαβάσει ο σεναριογράφος της 4ης σεζόν του Blackadder.