I have made two attempts to read this book, but unfortunately, I couldn't get past the 100-page mark on either occasion. I firmly believe that this has more to do with my own shortcomings than the quality of the book itself. I have a plan to make a third attempt at some point in the future.

Currently, the book sits on my bookshelf. And sometimes, when I have consumed a few too many beers, we engage in a conversation.

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.

Single Quote Review:

The words of Kierkegaard present a profound and thought-provoking perspective. He argues that even laughter is but an imperfect manifestation of the true ridicule of life. To achieve a perfect understanding of this ridicule, one should approach it with seriousness.

He further contends that the most ideal form of mockery of life would occur if the one who expounds the deepest truth is not a dreamer but a doubter. This is not beyond imagination, as a doubter can present the positive truth with great excellence, yet not believe in it himself. If he were a hypocrite, the joke would be on him. However, if he were a doubter who perhaps desired to believe what he doubted, the mockery would become entirely objective, with existence itself mocking through him. He could expound a doctrine capable of explaining everything, and the entire human race could find solace in it, but this doctrine would be unable to explain its own originator.

The idea that a person clever enough to hide the fact of his own madness could drive the whole world mad is both chilling and fascinating. It challenges our assumptions about truth, belief, and the power of the individual in society.

~ Kierkegaard

Hmm, where to start with a book like this one? It's a unique blend, being a third Kafka, a third Vonnegut, a third Pynchon, and completely insane. For the initial 200 or 250 pages, it's like a repetitive loop. It's as if Sisyphus is rolling that boulder up a hill, but here he's in American WWII battle fatigues (along with a flight suit and a Mae West life preserver sans the inflation module, courtesy of M&M Enterprises). Then, when the flak starts flying and blood splatters everywhere, it becomes intense right up until the end.

It features a Chaucerian cast of characters. Take Major Major Major Major, for example. He's a proud and independent man who opposes unemployment insurance yet doesn't hesitate to whine and extort. He's devout, with his pulpit everywhere. But if you want a meeting with him, you'll have to wait until he climbs out the window of his office and runs down the gully.

Colonel Cathart is another interesting character. He's a slick, successful, yet slipshod and unhappy man of thirty-six who wants to be a general. He measures his progress only in relation to others and his idea of excellence is to do something at least as well as those his age doing the same thing even better. This leads him to raise the number of combat missions to impress higher-ranking officers.

The Anabaptist chaplain also has his struggles. He starts to question God's existence and is tortured by his assistant, the sadistic Colonel Whitcomb. He spends a lot of time wondering about déjà vu, presque vu, or jamais vu.

There's also the ill-fated young Nately and the equally ill-fated old man debating about the war. And then there's Yossarian, the protagonist. Despite being haunted by various things and persecuted, he's perhaps the sanest person on the island of Pianosa. He's an everyman, justifiably paranoid, but also the only one outraged by the senseless violence.

This is truly the most anti-war book I've ever read. It makes M*A*S*H seem like a US Army recruiting poster in comparison. The actions of Milo Minderbender's M&M Enterprises, dealing with both sides and even shooting down US bombers, are horrifying. The slaughter of Kid Simpson is gruesome, and the scenes of terror and anarchy in Rome that Yossarian witnesses are chilling.

If you struggle through the first 200 pages, the pace and violence pick up, and you'll find yourself cheering for Yossarian and racing to the end. I would give it 5 stars, but the first 200 pages are a bit of a torture to get through. So, for lack of being able to give a 4.5, I rounded down to 4 stars. Regardless, it's clear why this classic is highly esteemed. May we never experience a war like this again.

Reading the second Rick Atkinson book of The Liberation Trilogy about the Allied campaign in Italy, it's as brutal and chaotic as Heller portrayed. Anzio was particularly horrendous. It's interesting to note that Roger Waters' father died at Anzio.

Highly recommended as a piece of essential anti-war black humor. Did anyone watch Clooney's adaptation on Hulu? Is it worthwhile? ??

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

Nately's whore had almost succeeded in killing Yossarian on her second try that day. Shaken, he decided he needed a drink to calm his nerves. He walked into the bar and saw Milo Minderbinder looking despondently into a rum-and-coke.

\\"How's it going, Milo?\\" Yossarian asked when he couldn't take the gloomy silence anymore.

\\"The Dantès deal failed,\\" Milo said in a tone of complete misery.

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

\\"It seemed so easy,\\" Milo said bitterly. \\"He wanted revenge on someone he had unfinished business with. I think he was framed or something... I wasn't interested in the details. It was nice and simple. I diverted a bombing mission from Naples to a place in France. He gave me the exact coordinates, and I was going to get a bag of high-quality gemstones. I even saw them.\\"

\\"So what went wrong?\\" Yossarian asked.

\\"I should have known it was too good to be true,\\" Milo continued. \\"I bribed General Scheisskopf with a deal on two extra parades. I thought 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?\\" Yossarian asked, intrigued despite himself.

\\"Then those idiots flew into the fog, lost their way, panicked, and dropped their payload without checking where they were. Somehow they happened to be right over Dantès's house. He was blown to pieces, and he was the only one who knew where he'd hidden the gems. It was a one in a million chance. A billion. I'll never get another chance like that. Never.\\"

\\"You still have the Egyptian cotton,\\" Yossarian said.

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

Catch-22 is often regarded as an anti-war novel, but my perception of it leans more towards it being an anti-military and perhaps even anti-organization work in general.

There is indeed a significant amount of criticism regarding war within the book. However, Heller delves deep into the inefficiency of the military itself. Commanders seem more concerned with achieving tight bomb patterns rather than focusing on the actual mission at hand.

One of the main reasons I decided to read this book, aside from the fact that it's a widely known classic, was to understand the true meaning of "Catch-22" within the context of the story. It turns out that the concept has numerous applications both within the book and in our daily lives today.

The first instance that comes to mind is when Yossarian, one of the main characters, decides he's had enough of flying missions and wants to go home. One option is to be declared insane. But here's the catch: you can only be declared insane if you seek help for it. However, if you do seek help, it means you're not actually insane because you're concerned about your sanity. This is the essence of Catch-22.

The book also presents other examples of Catch-22. For instance, the general military sentiment that your commander is always right, unless they're not, in which case they're still right. There's plenty of dialogue where an officer is completely wrong in his facts, and when a subordinate tries to correct him, the officer simply asks, "You calling me a liar?" This creates a situation where there's no way out, just like Catch-22.

While I initially enjoyed the book, it quickly became tiring. The repetitive nature of the dialogue and the events started to wear on me. Each chapter introduces a new person who is almost always connected to Yossarian, but it feels like a never-ending cycle. I believe this book could have been much better if it was half its current size.

Despite my complaints, I have to admit that Catch-22 is indeed an anti-war novel. The underlying message about the futility and absurdity of war is both sad and thought-provoking. Why do we have war? Because of Catch-22. Why does Catch-22 give us the right to go to war? Because it says so. It's a circular and senseless argument.

Overall, I give Catch-22 3 out of 5 stars. It has its moments of brilliance and hilarity, but it also has its flaws. I'm glad I read it, but I'm also relieved to be done with it.

☁️ 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 in one.

It’s as if halfway through, 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 thrust into 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. You find the absurdity of the situations and the witty remarks amusing. But as you progress through the story, and the true horror of war is revealed, your laughter turns to tears.

Once you get it, at the end, you break and cry. You realize the true cost of war and the toll it takes on the human psyche.

☀️ A masterpiece. It is a work that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.

[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.] His personal experiences in the war no doubt influenced the vivid and realistic portrayal of war in this novel.

At the age of 18, I was happy to read this book.

It was like a wonderful adventure that took me to different worlds and introduced me to various characters.

The story was full of excitement and new discoveries, and I couldn't put the book down.

When I was 23 or 25, I found it interesting to reread the same book.

By then, I had gained more life experiences, and I saw the story from a different perspective.

Some of the details that I missed the first time around now stood out to me, and I appreciated the author's writing even more.

However, when I reached the age of 35, rereading this book brought a sense of sadness.

Life had taken its toll, and I could relate to the characters in a more profound way.

The story that once seemed so exciting now felt absurd, ironic, and even painful.

It made me realize how much I had changed and how different life could be.

Despite the different emotions it evoked at different times in my life, this book remains one of the best in my collection.

It has accompanied me through various stages of my life and has taught me many valuable lessons.

I will always cherish it and continue to reread it from time to time.

I firmly believe that the novel Catch-22 stands as the ultimate antiwar satire. It exudes a distinct and disdainful atmosphere that is truly one-of-a-kind and nearly impossible to replicate.

In the military, an individual is often reduced to a puppet on strings. This book serves as a marionette theatre of such puppets, with the protagonist emerging as the sole person seemingly capable of possessing genuine human emotions.

As the famous quote goes, "He was going to live forever, or die in the attempt."

The value of a human life is of utmost importance, and thus, life and war are inherently incompatible. This novel masterfully explores the absurdity and tragedy of war, highlighting the dehumanizing effects it has on individuals. It forces us to question the senselessness of conflict and the price we pay for it.

Catch-22 is not just a book; it is a powerful commentary on the human condition and the folly of war.

There was only one catch, and that was Catch-22. It stipulated that a concern for one's safety in the face of real and immediate dangers was the mark of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask. But 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 deeply moved by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
...
Catch-22 did not exist, he was positive of that, but it made no difference. What mattered was that everyone thought it existed, and that was much worse. There was no object or text to ridicule or refute, to accuse, criticize, attack, amend, hate, revile, spit at, rip to shreds, trample upon or burn up.

A couple of years ago, I purchased the Pop Chart 100 Essential Novels Scratch-off Chart. Catch-22 is the 30th book I've read from that list. Set during World War II, mainly on an island off the coast of Italy, Catch-22 is an ensemble story about a group of soldiers trapped in an insane military bureaucracy. Some of them are crazy, while others have had craziness forced upon them. The narrative jumps from character to character in a series of vignettes and shifts back and forth in time. It's not particularly plot-driven, although there is an overarching story that we keep catching glimpses of throughout until it is fully explained in the final pages.

Catch-22 is a Classic, an Important work of Great Literature. However, it's not entertaining, unless you're the type of person who would enjoy 500 somewhat repetitive pages capturing the phrase "military intelligence is an oxymoron." The book is filled with contradictions like "Major Major never sees anyone in his office while he's in his office" and "my only fault is that I have no faults." It is comic but not funny. It's neither a heroic nor a gritty war story but an absurdist one, a take that I'm not sure holds up today (though it is, occasionally, gory). And while it's unsurprising that the vast majority of characters were men, it was still jarring that pretty much every female character was simply a sex object, including the one referred to at least a hundred times simply as "Nately's whore."

It was impossible not to notice how much the TV show M*A*S*H borrowed from Catch-22, from the ensemble cast and vignette structure, to numerous similar characters, to the idea that Klinger's attempt to get out of combat only reinforced the belief that he's sane. But I'd argue that M*A*S*H was a far better work of art because it explored a much wider range of emotions. Sure, there was the same sarcasm and anti-bureaucracy themes, but there was also joy, love, humor, and fear. Catch-22 really only has one note to play, and I grew tired of it long before the book ended. In fact, I was rather like Nately's whore, who "was bored and indifferent, and wanted very much to sleep."

Here is my more in-depth review:

The video link is https://youtu.be/RcT_gSiCY8k.

I'm really sorry, but I just don't understand this work. There are so many circular conversations that from the very beginning, it's clear they're not going anywhere. There are also too many characters, making it difficult to care about any of them. It fails both as a moving war novel and as a comedic novel. In fact, it just wasn't funny at all!

I spent almost 20 hours listening to the audiobook, and now I truly wish I could get those precious hours of my life back.

2025 Reading Schedule

Jan - A Town Like Alice

Feb - Birdsong

Mar - Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere

Apr - War and Peace

May - The Woman in White

Jun - Atonement

Jul - The Shadow of the Wind

Aug - Jude the Obscure

Sep - Ulysses

Oct - Vanity Fair

Nov - A Fine Balance

Dec - Germinal

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Absolutely tragic. I think that's how I would characterize Catch-22 if I had to describe it in two words. I laughed many times while reading it, but my stomach also clenched much more often.

We are on the island of Pianosa in the Mediterranean, at an American bomber base during World War II. In the first half of the book, you have the impression that the island is inhabited by crazy people.

In the second part, you are sure: yes, they are all crazy. The war drives them crazy. Fear, death, and terror drive them crazy.

Yossarian has become entangled in the gears of the war machine, like so many others, but he is determined to live forever or die trying. Is he the craziest of them all? Or is he the only sane one? He has done his duty to his country, and more, but he cannot escape. They won't let him. His superiors, intoxicated with power, constantly increase their demands. His friends die one after another. And there is always the trap, Catch-22, the paranoia. You can't escape. Or can you?

Despite all its craziness (or because of it), it is a very true book, and through its black humor, it reveals the absurdity of war.

In the first half, which is also the funniest, the narration is a paranoia, jumping from one topic to another, going back and forth in time, the dialogues are completely absurd, characters come and go, and chaos reigns. Just when all this starts to get tiring, the narration slowly changes, and events that seemed unrelated at first start to connect, and you realize that everything had its place in this story. Nothing was random or superfluous.

Have patience with this book. I truly believe that if you do, you will be handsomely rewarded. This book holds within its pages a wealth of knowledge, inspiration, and entertainment. It may not reveal all its treasures immediately, but as you persevere and take the time to explore each chapter, you will discover something new and wonderful.

Trust me when I say that the effort you put into reading this book will be well worth it. It has the potential to change your perspective, broaden your horizons, and give you valuable insights that you can apply to your own life. So, don't be in a hurry. Slow down, savor each word, and allow the story or the ideas presented in the book to sink in.

With patience and an open mind, you will find that this book becomes a source of joy, learning, and personal growth. You will look forward to the moments when you can pick it up and lose yourself in its pages. And when you finally reach the end, you will feel a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment, knowing that you have embarked on a remarkable journey and emerged a better person for it.