Joseph Heller's inclusion in the "100 books that must be read" had caught my attention. To be honest, the claim that it was "the best tragicomic, satirical work ever written" seemed rather exaggerated. In the first 100 pages, I struggled and felt my belief in the exaggeration increase. The presence of military teams, places, objects, and people in the story also made me a bit confused. However, after a certain point, as I got used to what the author was trying to say, his language, narrative, and plots, I couldn't put it down. I didn't understand where the 618 pages went. Surely, there will be other friends who know what the author wanted to do, what he aimed for, and what he achieved. In short, it was enjoyable to get to know both Joseph Heller and "Catch-22". I'm satisfied.

This book offers a unique reading experience. It combines elements of tragedy and comedy in a way that keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end. The complex and often absurd world created by Heller is both fascinating and thought-provoking. The characters are vividly drawn, and their interactions add depth and humor to the story.

Despite the initial difficulties I had in getting into the book, I'm glad I persisted. "Catch-22" is a classic work of literature that has stood the test of time. It challenges our perceptions and makes us question the nature of war, bureaucracy, and human behavior. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a challenging and rewarding read.

Kết thúc một tuần Tết tung tăng khắp Hà Nội thì tôi cũng đọc xong Bẫy 22. Đã đọc nguyên tác cách đây chục năm, lần đọc lại này qua bản tiếng Việt giúp tôi nhìn thấy một số điểm chưa nhìn thấy trong lần đọc trước. Tôi thấy trong Catch 22 có tinh thần của 1984 ở những trường đoạn châm biếm toàn trị trong chiến tranh. Chẳng hạn đọan buộc tội cha tuyên uý, hay đoạn dọa đưa Yossarian ra toà án binh. Những cảnh tượng này thật sự rất đáng kinh ngạc và khiến tôi nghĩ sâu về bản chất của chiến tranh.

Tôi thấy hình ảnh của Zorba tay chơi Hy Lạp ở lão già đối đáp với Nately, bài bác tinh thần dân tộc. Đây là một trong những hình ảnh đẹp nhất trong cuốn tiểu thuyết, thể hiện sự giàu có và đa dạng của văn hóa. Tôi cũng thấy Kafka ở nhiều nơi, với những câu chuyện kỳ lạ và bất khả thi, khiến người đọc phải tự hỏi về tính hợp lý của thế giới.

Trên hết, đây là cuốn tiểu thuyết cấu thành bằng phi lý, để nói lên bản chất phi lý của chiến tranh. Và nếu cần một thông điệp thì đây: Chiến tranh chỉ có lợi cho bọn con buôn. Chúng ta phải luôn nhớ điều này và cố gắng ngăn chặn chiến tranh trước khi nó bắt đầu.

It seems like just about every Must-Read book list has Catch-22 on it. For a long time, I've been thinking that I should at least give it a try, considering its frequent appearance on those lists. However, it just didn't sound appealing to me. A novel set in an army camp during WWII, revolving around some bombardier and his squadron? Nah, it didn't seem like something that would pique my interest.

Last week, as I was searching for my classic-of-the-month for August, I finally decided to give in and read this book. I thought that if I really hated it, I could simply mark it as abandoned and be done with it. At least I would have given it a shot. To my great delight, I discovered that this book is exactly to my taste! Yes, it might be about a group of army guys, but it is hilarious!! Expecting to be bored, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing on the very first page.

Catch-22 is truly brilliant and clever, filled with insights and witty remarks. At times, it felt a bit long and could perhaps have benefited from a better edit. But then, just two pages later, I'd be laughing again and not minding the length at all. It is a satire that pokes fun at the absurdity of war, nationalism, patriotism, and religion. For example, in war, there are no real winners. Everyone loses in the end. And as for God..... in my favorite passage of the book, Yosserian declares,

"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 adore that!!

At times philosophical and almost always funny, Catch-22 makes you think while also making you laugh. It rightfully deserves its place on all those Must-Read lists. If it's not on yours, it definitely should be! I give it 4.5 stars, rounded up.

Years ago, when I was futilely seeking a job in the Middle East, I encountered a career consultant.

I inquired, "How can I obtain a job in the Middle East?"

He replied, scratching his chin, "Well, for that you require experience."

"But I possess eighteen years of experience!" I objected.

"That might be the case," he stated. "What I meant was - you need Gulf experience."

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

"Yes, I'm aware," he said tranquilly. "You see, that's the catch."

This exchange left me feeling rather frustrated. It seemed like a never-ending cycle. I had the general experience, but not the specific Gulf experience that was apparently crucial. And yet, I couldn't get the Gulf experience without first getting a job there. It was a conundrum that I struggled to find a way out of. I wondered how many others were in a similar situation, facing this seemingly insurmountable obstacle in their job search.

Despite the setback, I refused to give up. I continued to explore different options and look for ways to gain the necessary experience. I knew that it wouldn't be easy, but I was determined to persevere and eventually land that job in the Middle East.

Catch 22 is a truly remarkable and thought-provoking concept.

If a person is considered crazy or insane, they are prohibited from flying any more combat missions. However, if they apply for this status, they are paradoxically judged to be too rational to be insane, and thus their request is denied. This circular and illogical situation is not only applicable to the military but also has far-reaching implications in many aspects of our daily lives.

Catch 22 is not just an ordinary satire; it is the epitome of all satires. It challenges the way we blindly accept the status quo and fails to question the absurdity of some of the rules and regulations in society.

Capt. John Yossarin, the protagonist, takes a moral stance in his view of life, except perhaps in matters of sex where he shows some moral deficiency. Nevertheless, he comprehends the absurdity of Catch 22 but struggles to convince others.

This novel, although not perfect, is a work of pure genius. It may be a bit lengthy and overly repetitive in certain scenes, but this was Heller's deliberate choice to emphasize his points. Overall, I rate it 4.5 stars or 9/10, almost perfect but not quite.

This process took longer than I initially intended, but I was engaged in a busy walking holiday.

Nonetheless, this particular book is of a nature that is meant to be relished in short intervals. The humour it contains is not only brilliant but also extremely clever.

Now, it's time to move onto the next book. As the saying goes, you know that one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.

I’ve stopped reading this for the second time in quick succession.

I truly love the concept of Catch 22. That is, there are situations in life where, for instance, to prove you're crazy, you have to say you're crazy, but saying you're crazy actually shows you can't be. And while these paradoxes are interesting and sometimes even amusing, I found this book to be quite the opposite. The humor felt far too forced and overly exaggerated to be truly funny. The repetitions in the book began to drive me insane as well. Not only the obvious repetitions used to identify characters, which made the characters seem more like caricatures and highly irritating ones at that, but also the idea that this was an exploration of every possible example of a Catch 22 situation that the writer could think up started to annoy me. I understand it was meant as a parody, but...

I think part of the problem might be that I believe the humor has not aged well. I had a very similar experience with a book I adored when I first read it a hundred years ago – Milligan’s Puckoon. But when I started reading it again recently, I had to stop halfway through as I could barely get a smile out of it. This has worried me greatly as I was thinking of going back and reading his Adolf Hitler My Part in his Downfall, but might just rely on my pleasant memories of that book.

I had really hoped to enjoy this, and perhaps I would have if I had read it in the 70s when I first planned to. But unfortunately, this one didn't work for me nearly as well as I had hoped. Now, I just found it far too heavy-handed.

I have attempted three times, yet I still cannot immerse myself in this book.

It is just too disjointed. I suppose my brain simply doesn't function in that particular way.

I truly wanted to like it. I was in love with the premise and the concept.

However, it just didn't click for me.

And I'm more disappointed about this than anyone else could possibly be.

It's a real pity because I had such high hopes.

But sometimes, no matter how much we want something to work, it just doesn't.

Maybe I'll give it another try in the future, but for now, I'm left feeling a bit let down. :-0

This book remains an absolute stone cold classic.

It is truly a masterpiece that has withstood the test of time.

From the very first page, I was completely captivated and couldn't put it down.

Every word, every sentence, and every paragraph is written with such precision and beauty.

The story unfolds in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat, filled with excitement, mystery, and emotion.

The characters are so well-developed that you feel as if you know them personally.

The author's ability to create a vivid and immersive world is truly remarkable.

I loved every single page of this book and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.

It is a book that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.

What is a country? A country is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by boundaries, usually unnatural. Englishmen are willing to sacrifice their lives for England, Americans for America, Germans for Germany, and Russians for Russia. Currently, there are fifty or sixty countries engaged in this war. Surely, not all of these numerous countries can be worthy of one's sacrifice.

\\n  This remarkable piece of absurdist humor, with its circular reasoning and warped logic that mocks not only war but also society as a whole, struck a chord in America precisely at the right moment. The Baby Boomer generation was reaching adulthood, and the Vietnam conflict was on the verge of a significant escalation.\\n

Set in the encampment of a small bomber group on a tiny Italian island during the final years of WWII, the story weaves in and out among an incredibly large cast of unforgettable characters. It drunkenly careens through time to tell the tale of one man's struggle to survive. The humor disappears suddenly at times, which makes the serious parts even more powerful, much like this book's spiritual relative, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.. This unique narrative style keeps the reader engaged and constantly surprises them with its unexpected twists and turns.

E YOSSARIAN PRESE IL FUCILE NEL MATTATOIO N° 6

The TV miniseries in 6 episodes, produced and partly directed by George Clooney, brings to life this iconic story. The novel, a manifesto of anti-militarism, has over time become the emblem of the absurdity and madness of war. Its famous title, with its comma signifying a trap and a snare, has turned into a slogan. Take, for example, the infamous Comma 22: only a crazy person can ask to be exempted from flight missions, but whoever asks to be exempted from flight missions is not crazy. What a magnificent paradox! It's the affirmation of a principle and its immediate negation, a direct descendant of the ultimate paradox: the following sentence is false - the previous sentence is true. The comical effect is guaranteed.

The story is set in Italy towards the end of World War II. Yossarian, a US military aviation officer and B25 bomber pilot, is on the island of Pianosa carrying out raids on enemy lines and protecting the advance of the allies. The Italian setting is perhaps due to the fact that Heller himself was a gunner on a B-25 Mitchell bomber of the US Air Force operating from Corsica during the Second World War. The protagonist is the ultimate anti-hero, obsessed with the fact that thousands of unknown people, to whom he has personally done nothing, are constantly trying to kill him. The novel is populated with extravagant and maniacal characters who apply military discipline with meticulous zeal, unaware of making a mockery of the crazy logic of Comma 22.

Some consider it one of the first postmodern novels as the narrative does not proceed chronologically. The same event is narrated multiple times from the perspective of different characters, and some concepts are repeated from one interlocutor to another, creating a circularity that becomes an absurd dialogue. First published in 1961 and initially panned by critics, including important ones like The New Yorker and The New York Times, it became a bestseller of 10 million copies with the paperback edition and its release in the UK. During the Vietnam era, many pacifists demonstrating in front of the White House wore a button with the slogan "Yossarian lives". In Italy, it appeared on the pages of Sturmtruppen, and its soldiers recited it as it is in the novel: "Whoever is crazy can ask to be exempted from military actions, but whoever asks to be exempted from military actions is not crazy."

After the success of The Graduate, director Mike Nichols had the freedom to do as he pleased. He had the fifth largest air fleet in the world at his disposal, thirty real B-25 "Mitchell" bombers, a thrilling cast (Alan Arkin, Anthony Perkins, Charles Grodin, Martin Balsam, Art Garfunkel, Buck Henry, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Bob Balaban, and of course, an unforgettable Orson Welles), endless shooting times, and remote locations in Mexico where the great cinematographer David Watkin (later awarded an Oscar for Out of Africa) waited for 2:45 pm, the only moment of the day with perfect lighting. Nichols had fun directing, experimenting with sequence shots, extremely long takes, and choreographing the enormous B-25s. However, the film was a flop, unable to withstand the competition from M.A.S.H., which was released five months earlier and was a huge success.

Candice Bergen and Peter Bogdanovich in visita sul set di Catch 22: mentre la Bergen scatta foto, Bogdanovich e Orson Welles lavorano al celebre libro intervista

A Comic Masterpiece Set in Italy during WWII [4 stars, bumped up 1 star for making me laugh so much]

This book takes place in Italy during World War II and is truly a comic masterpiece. The story begins with the main character being tasked with censoring letters sent by soldiers in a military hospital to their families back home. To make this otherwise mundane task more interesting, he creates games like "death to all modifiers", which results in the removal of all adjectives and adverbs from the letters, leading to some hilarious outcomes.

Perhaps the reason this book is so funny is that it provides a much-needed comic relief from the absurdities and horrors of war. While I found myself laughing out loud at many points, I also realized that it should be read in moderation, as it can sometimes verge on the clownish or buffoonish. However, aside from "A Confederacy of Dunces", this is the only book that has consistently made me laugh, often quite loudly.
If you haven't read this book yet, it offers a refreshing break from the serious and sad nature of much literary work. Although we know that literary fare is more in line with real life, humans have always had a desperate need for and a true appreciation of laughter. This has typically been expressed through comic plays, musicals, and comedy/romantic-comedy films. But every now and then, we can find that laughter in the form of a narrative, and this book is one such example.