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 really do admire you a bit. You're an intelligent person of great moral character who has taken a very courageous stand. I'm an intelligent person with no moral character at all, so I'm in an ideal position to appreciate it." - Colonel Korn, Catch-22

I really appreciate it when a book respects the intelligence of its readership. If a book is going to be "experimental" in any way, I love those that throw you into a world with no explanations - a literary baptism of fire (ie: Orwell's "Animal Farm"). Catch-22 is one of those books, and that's part of the reason why I thought it was so amazing!

Catch-22 tells the story of a US Army squadron based in Italy during WWII, and a disenchanted pilot named Yossarian who thinks everyone is trying to kill him. (not an unreasonable assumption in a war) Except that it's not an Italy, a military story, or a world that we're meant to immediately recognize. There is a logic in the book that all the characters seem to accept, but that doesn't make sense to the reader. Or, alternately, it makes too much sense to the reader, and that's when the book hits you hard. You start falling into it. You start siding with people. Then all of a sudden, you realize that you're siding with the wrong people. You start thinking to yourself how could I be agreeing with this asshole?! How can I be laughing! My favorite books are the ones that elicit visceral reactions from me...my chest gets tight, my stomach gets tied in knots, and I can't explain why I'm reacting positively/negatively - I just know that I am. There were so many of those moments in this book, I can't even begin to describe them all...

One of the things that impressed me most was the structure of the book - how all at once it seemed both haphazard, and entirely calculated. How each segment could stand alone, but that together they weaved an intricate, thought-provoking story...
If you like historical novels, if you like political novels, if you like in-depth characters, if you like humor, if you like to think - I would highly recommend this book to you.

و باز هم یک ناامیدی مطلق برای من پس از خواندن یکی از معروفترین نوشته های قرن بیستم !
تبصره 22 داستان کسی ایست که در هواپیما مسئول تنظیم زاویه بمب و زمان انداختن آن است ، پس مسئولیت خیلی مهمی دارد . شخصیت اصلی داستان یوساریان هست که در ابتدا باید 25 ماموریت را پرواز کند تا بتواند به خانه برگردد ولی با عوض شدن فرمانده عملیات تعداد ماموریت های انجام شده مدام بالا و بالاتر می رود مابقی داستان به تلاش های یوساریان برای فرار کردن از جنگ و همین طور ضعیف شدن مداوم روحیه ارتش با مشاهده کشته شده شدن نیروهای آمریکایی می گذرد .
همین طور که دیدید داستان شباهت بسیاری با فیلم لیلی با من است دارد و من خودم لیلی با من است را ترجیح می دهم !
کتاب گیرایی چندانی ندارد و طنز تلخ نویسنده هم برای من جالب نبود . در ضمن سریالی به همین نام هم وجود داره با بازی جرج کلونی و سریال هم به اندازه کتاب نچسب و شعاریه

Have your friend report you as crazy. Problem solved.

Catch-22 is known as an anti-war novel, but I didn't get that from it at all. It's more an anti-military novel and possibly just anti-organizations in general.

Yes, there's a fair bit of expostulation about war, but Heller really goes into detail about the ineffectiveness of the military itself. Commanders focusing on tight bomb patterns rather than the actual mission.

I think one of the main reasons I read this, besides the fact that everyone else has, was just to find out what Catch-22 meant in the context of this book. It turns out that it has just as many applications within the book as it is commonly used today.

One of the first instances is when Yossarian, one of the main characters of the book, decides he's done flying missions and wants to go home. One way to do so is to be declared insane. The problem is, you can't be declared insane unless you see someone about it...but if you see someone about it, you're obviously not insane because you're worried about your sanity...catch-22.

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own 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."

It goes on to present other instances such as the general military sentiment that your commander is always right...unless they're not, then they're still right. Plenty of dialogue revolves around an officer speaking to a subordinate, the officer has his facts completely wrong, the subordinate tries to correct, and the officer then says, "You calling me a liar?" Of course, that would never happen, so...catch-22.

I think what makes this a classic is partly the writing itself. It's so circular, it often represents the idea it is presenting, catch-22. Not only is the dialogue repetitive all too often (way too often), the events seem to repeat themselves as well, going along with the idea that is catch-22, it's inherently circular, there's no way around it.

I have to say that this is more of a tiring novel than anything. I really enjoyed it from the very beginning, but it also begins to wear on you pretty fast. Each chapter deals with a new person, but almost always somehow connected to Yossarian. But as I complained about above, it's too repetitive for me and that was the beginning of a ruined joke for me. It's just not that funny after a while. This whole book could be so much better at just half the size.

Of course this is an anti-war novel even though I joked about it not being so (yes, that was supposed to be a joke) and that's the actual sad meaning behind Catch-22 comes in. Why is there war? Because of Catch-22. Why does Catch-22 give one the right to go to war? Because Catch-22 says so. If you can beat the other guy, then the law's on your side.

Good, even hilarious at times, but I just couldn't wait to be done.

3 out of 5 Stars

"What is a country? A country is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by boundaries, usually unnatural. Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia. There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war. Surely so many countries can't all be worth dying for."
"Anything worth living for," said Nately, "is worth dying for."
"And everything worth dying for," answered the sacrilegious old man, "is certainly worth living for."

4.5*

Ξεκαρδιστικά τραγικό.Νομίζω κάπως έτσι θα χαρακτήριζα το Catch-22 αν έπρεπε να το περιγράψω με δυο λέξεις.Γέλασα πολλές φορές διαβάζοντάς το και σφίχτηκε το στομάχι μου πολύ περισσότερες.
Bρισκόμαστε στο νησάκι Πιανόζα στη Μεσόγειο,σε μια αμερικανική βάση βομβαρδιστικών,κατά τη διάρκεια του δευτέρου παγκοσμίου πολέμου.Στο πρώτο μισό του βιβλίου έχεις την εντύπωση οτι το νησί κατοικείται απο τρελούς.
Στο δεύτερο κομμάτι σιγουρευεσαι:ναι ,είναι όλοι τρελοί.Τους τρέλανε ο πόλεμος.Τους τρέλανε η φρίκη,ο θάνατος,ο φόβος.
Ο Γιοσάριαν έχει μπλεχτεί στα γρανάζια της πολεμικής μηχανής,όπως και τόσοι άλλοι,αλλά αυτός είναι αποφασισμένος να ζήσει για πάντα ή να πεθάνει προσπαθώντας.Είναι ο πιο τρελός απο όλους;Ή είναι ο μόνος γνωστικός;Έχει κάνει το καθήκον του προς την πατρίδα,και με το παραπάνω,αλλά δεν μπορεί να ξεφύγει.Δεν τον αφήνουν.Οι ανώτεροι του ,μεθυσμένοι απο εξουσία,αυξάνουν συνεχώς τις απαιτήσεις τους.Οι φίλοι του πεθαίνουν ο ένας μετά τον άλλο.Και υπάρχει πάντα η παγίδα,το Catch 22,η παράνοια.Δεν μπορείς να ξεφύγεις.Ή μπορείς;
Παρόλη την τρέλα του( ή εξαιτίας της) είναι ένα πολύ αληθινό βιβλίο και μέσα απο το μαύρο χιούμορ του αναδεικνύει τον παραλογισμό του πολέμου.
Στο πρώτο μισό του ,που είναι και το πιο αστείο,η αφήγηση είναι μια παράνοια,πετάγεται απο το ένα θέμα στο άλλο,πάει μπρος πίσω στο χρόνο,οι διάλογοι είναι εντελώς παράλογοι,χαρακτηρες πάνε κι έρχονται,επικρατεί ένα χάος.Πάνω που αρχίζει όλο αυτό να κουράζει,η αφήγηση σιγά σιγά αλλάζει,περιστατικά που έμοιαζαν άσχετα μεταξύ τους αρχίζουν να δένουν και καταλαβαίνεις οτι όλα είχαν τη θέση του σε αυτήν την ιστορία.Τίποτα δεν ήταν ούτε τυχαίο,ούτε περιττό.

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.

Single Quote Review:

"...even to laugh is only an imperfect expression of the real ridicule of life. For it to be perfect one ought properly to be serious.

The most perfect mockery of life would be if the person who propounded the deepest truth were not a dreamer but a doubter. And that isn’t inconceivable, for no one can propound the positive truth as excellently as a doubter, except that he himself doesn’t believe in it. If he were a hypocrite the joke would be on him; if he were a doubter who perhaps wanted to believe what he doubted, the mockery would be entirely objective, existence would be mocking itself through him; he would be propounding a doctrine able to explain everything and the whole race could repose in it, but this doctrine could not explain its own founder.

Were a person clever enough to conceal the fact of his own madness, he could make the whole world mad."

~ Kierkegaard

I have attempted to read this book on two separate occasions and I couldn't get beyond 100 pages either time. I do believe that this has more to do with me than the book and I plan on making a third attempt at some point in the future.

Currently it sits on my bookshelf and sometimes (when I have a few too many beers) we have a talk.

Me: Hi.
Catch-22: Oh, hi.
Me: How are you feeling?
Catch-22: I've been better.
Me: Don't be upset. It's not you. It's me.
Catch-22: I know that.
Me: My friends tell me I'm an idiot for ending our relationship.
Catch-22: I agree.
Me: I'm sure the reason I don't laugh or enjoy myself when I'm with you has more to do with my own flaws than with yours.
Catch-22: Of course. I'm flawless.
Me: I don't know if I would go that far.
Catch-22: Well, you've already admitted that it's your fault so I don't know if you're the best person to be judging whether or not I'm flawed.
Me: Hey, now! I didn't laugh once when I was with you.
Catch-22: I've been forced to sit on this bookshelf for years while you plop in front of the TV to laugh at Will Ferrell movies. I'll give you Anchorman but Step Brothers? Don't talk to me about what is or isn't funny.
Me: The sleepwalking scene in that movie is pure genius!
Catch-22: I rest my case.
Me: Ok, ok. You're right. I promise you that one day I'll be mature and enlightened enough to appreciate you and when that day comes, you and I will have some fun together.
Catch-22: I won't hold my breath.

Do I like Catch-22?
I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't.

Sorry to report that I am at odds with most readers' views of this iconic novel.
The foolishness of war. The absurdity of mission orders: yeah, Heller, I got it the first time! It's like someone who's told a joke but then keeps feeling the need to explain it, just as the laughter starts to subside.

Often cited as 'One of the top fifty books to read before you die': well, at about two-hundred pages too long, the repetitiousness almost caused me to die whilst reading it!
Sorry. : (

4/5

Catch-22 stretches some limitations that are so normative in books, that I couldn’t help but to love it for that. The timeline jumps, that I could easily understand can get tedious to follow, fortunately I found relatively easy to get along with. Probably because I don’t believe that having a perfect time-setting for every scene was of a great importance. The humor also was fantastic, and if I’d had one criticism would be that, in the middle, the story is dragging, some 80 pages are extra weight.
Other than that, I think the reader needs to dive into this leaving some pre-existing knowledge of how the world works or what’s logical and what’s not, even what’s good and evil, at the door. Working with the book’s new rules of logic, bureaucracy, levels of authority, capitalism, sexuality, will help you understand it and its characters better in what it seems to be a word of absurdity.
I will re-read with great pleasure, since I’m certain that I’ll discover new ideas to think of, new situations to laugh at, new tragedies to contemplate, with every new read.

For the Celebrity Death Match Review Tournament, The Count of Monte Cristo (15) versus Catch-22

Nately's whore had nearly managed to kill Yossarian on her second attempt that day, and he felt he needed a drink to steady his nerves. He went into the bar and found Milo Minderbinder staring disconsolately into a rum-and-coke.

"How's tricks, Milo?" asked Yossarian, when he couldn't stand the brooding silence any longer.

"The Dantès deal fell through," said Milo in a tone of utter misery.

"Tell me more," said Yossarian, against his better judgment.

"It seemed so straightforward," said Milo bitterly. "He wants revenge on this guy he has unfinished business with. Think he got framed or something... anyway, I wasn't interested in the details. It was nice and simple. I divert a bombing mission from Naples to this place in France, he gave me precise coordinates, and I was going to get a bag of high-quality gemstones. I even saw them."

"So what went wrong?" asked Yossarian.

"I should have known it was too easy," Milo continued. "I paid off General Scheisskopf with a deal on two extra parades. I though I'd have to go up to four, but he agreed to two. Major Major Major Major just signed the papers without even reading them. And then..."

"Then what?" asked Yossarian, intrigued despite himself.

"Then those idiots fly into fog, lose their bearings, panic, and just drop their payload without checking where they are. Somehow they happen to be right over Dantès's house. He was blown to bits, and he was the only person who knew where he'd stashed the gems. It was a million to one. A billion. I'll never get another opportunity like it. Never."

"You've still got the Egyptian cotton," said Yossarian.

"That's true," said Milo, brightening up a little. "Thanks Yossarian, you're a friend." He paid for both their drinks and went out to check if cotton futures had gone up again.

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.