I realize that CATCH 22 is widely regarded as one of the greatest literary works of the twentieth century. However, it simply did not appeal to me. At the beginning, I found it extremely confusing, and even when I managed to sort out the storyline, I had to force myself to endure the repetitive nature of it all.

Nevertheless, it still deserves 3 Stars for its uniqueness. The novel presents a dark satire on the atrocities of war, depicting a U.S. Army bombardier's struggle to maintain his sanity in a world full of contradictions. Published in 1961, this classic is a must-read for those who are interested in exploring the complex themes of war and its impact on the human psyche.

Despite my personal reservations, I can appreciate the literary merit and significance of CATCH 22. It has had a profound influence on subsequent generations of writers and continues to be studied and analyzed in academic circles. If you are looking for a thought-provoking and challenging read, this novel may be worth your time.

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. The author seems to be overly insistent on driving home these points, which, after a while, becomes tiresome.

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! The story drags on and on, with the same themes and situations being repeated ad nauseam. It's a real struggle to get through those extra pages that could have been easily trimmed.

Sorry. : ( Maybe I'm just not the right audience for this book, but for me, it failed to live up to its reputation.

I read this book several years ago, and now I am bringing this review to Goodreads.

Where should I begin?

This is a rather difficult book to understand. Heller is somewhat crazy. Well, I have started somewhere. His intention, I believe, is to illustrate the absurdity of war, as this book was written during the Vietnam War. He writes about the daily life of the soldiers in the U.S. Army. Within the book, there is a passage that tells us about the meaning of Catch-22:

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of real and immediate dangers 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."

The cast of characters is insane, and there are so many that it's hard to keep count. But you know what, most people think this is the finest novel of the 20th century.

Although it didn't win any awards, it has remained continuously in print and has sold millions of copies since its publication in 1961. Obviously, it was made into a successful movie in 1970.

It is quirky, classic, and crazy. And to be honest, I'm still not sure I fully understand it.

Is it tragic, absurd, or funny?

WHO CARES!

This book truly beats out almost every other one that claims to be funny. And I'm no stranger to funny books.

Catch-22 grabs you firmly by the skinny hairs and shocks you into the most wonderful and yet horrible bureaucratic nightmare ever imagined. It's not just the clarity that hits you. It's not the convoluted insanity of a huge cast of truly unforgettable and brilliant characters as they fumble from one mismatched contradiction to another or as they manipulate the system to truly amazing extents. (Think Milo.) :)

It's the perfect timing, the clever buildups, the sheer insanity of one damnable event after another and the realization that the only clear solution, the only way out of this trap, is...

No. Wait. That IS the realization. There is no way out.

We can put the book down, but the absurdities persist. Not just the ones within the book, but also in our own lives as we deal with one more piece of nonsense after another. There is no escape. None.

And yet, I found myself laughing throughout this novel. This brilliant, truly brilliant novel.

I'm taking a risk here to say that it's among the top 20 books of all time. Maybe even higher. There's absolutely nothing about this book that I didn't love. I'm going to have to read it 4 - 5 times just for the sheer perverse pleasure of it.

Sure, some Italian whore might come at me with a steak knife or other piece of cutlery, but that's the price you pay when dealing with the military.

Totally amazing.

"Insanity is contagious."

Like numerous other works of an initially absurd or dystopian nature, this classic catches up with reality at a pace faster than I can fathom. When I first shared Yossarian's frustration regarding the perfect catch, I did so in a rather abstract manner, relishing the intellectual game that the novel had me engaged in.

Now, I find myself constantly thinking of his pain as something I experience daily, while reading the news and listening to the authorities in charge of ruling the world. If one desires to succeed against the insanity of populist ruthlessness and restore liberal values and democratic processes, one must adopt the weapons of the insane leaders and transform oneself into a demagogue playing to the stupidity and insanity of the indoctrinated, thoughtless masses. But then, of course, one no longer represents liberal values and democratic processes; one turns into the very monster one is fighting.

When Yossarian realized that he could only escape the threat to his life (active participation in the war) if he was declared insane, and that expressing the wish to escape the threat to his life actually proved he was sane, he knew he was in the clutches of insane authorities (who ironically were safe from dying in the war for which they were responsible!). They maintained their numbing power over him as long as he was sane enough to resist and human enough to have a character.

"It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character."

As a novel that showcases the absurdity of war and nationalism on an individual level, while maintaining a (bittersweet) sense of humor, this labyrinthine tale has no equal.

"The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them."

So here is my catch, let's call it the catch 42 - the catch that comes into play whenever we attempt to find the Answer to Life, The Universe and Everything. If all the insane leaders of the world read this book, they would understand the meaninglessness of their destructive power play, and they would change their ways, and the world would finally be a safe place. The catch is that they have to be sane to read it.

So, read it if you are sane enough to understand it. It will drive you crazy though.

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.

Set during World War II, Catch-22 details the experiences of Captain Yossarian and the other airmen in his camp. They strive to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements to return home.

I did it! I conquered the book I dreaded most and made it to the end. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm not in love with it, but I gained a lot from reading it.

Catch-22 is often hilarious, yet beneath the satire and humor lies a bleak and harrowing portrayal of war. Towards the end, I found myself emotionally attached to some characters, which was completely unexpected.

I really appreciated Heller's techniques. One was using the number of missions the military personnel needed to complete to mark the timeline. Another was introducing a new character or place in each chapter, but always veering back to Yossarian and the core characters.

This book is so clever, with all the contradictions and commentary on the nonsensical nature of war. I'm in awe of its construction and impact.

However, I didn't give it 5 stars. The repetition, though effective at times, became irritating. Some characters were hard to distinguish, and some parts were boring.

But for me, it was more good than bad, and I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it. It might surprise you too! 3 stars.

I read this in 2017.

Finally, I managed to complete this landmark book. It is truly one of the most terrifyingly gruesome novels I have ever come across when it comes to depicting the casualties of war.

It must also be mentioned that it is darkly humorous, with satire oozing from every page. The absurd and implausible scenes seem to dominate Yossarian's world. Against the backdrop are shady profiteers like Milo, sassy prostitutes, and sociopathic men lacking any moral compass.

I believe it is extremely relevant to the current political climate. President Trump's administration is filled with buffoons, the insane, and a straightforward alternative universe where there is no truth other than the horrible lies and gaslighting. Indeed, it was timely for me to read this.

Insanity is contagious.

Oh man, it's truly crazy. I wonder if I can say anything revealing about Catch 22. It's been a long time since I first read it, and it was like a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room. If you grew up in an oppressive country where mediocrity was considered a virtue and a lot of things were banned, and many situations felt like the infamous Catch 22, where it was safer not to say anything about certain things, reading such absurd and grotesque stories paradoxically allowed you to maintain your common sense and ignore the awkward reality.

Catch-22 is a satirical story about a unit of American bombardiers who, during the war, are stationed on the island of Pianosa in the Mediterranean Sea. The main character of the novel, Yossarian, is a man with a morbid aversion to dying. From the very beginning, he tries every possible way to get permission to return to his country but is constantly hindered by the titular Catch-22.

Besides him, we get to know a colorful cast of characters. There's Major Major Major Major, who is like an anguished Henry Fonda. Orr has cheeks like crab apples. Nately had a bad start because he came from a good family. Dunbarr, the Texan, turned out to be good-natured, generous, and likable, but in three days no one could stand him. And there are many, many others. Oh, and let's not forget about the mysterious soldier in white.

The novel is divided into chapters titled with the name of the person to whom it refers. And of course, its best feature is its humor and a huge dose of absurdity. In Catch 22, sane people are mistaken for madmen and lunatics for mentally healthy ones. But most importantly, this is a book that not only amuses readers but also, by ridiculing grotesque regulations, bureaucracy, and pompous statements, shows them the absurdity of war and helps them tame their own demons and fears. Undeniably, Heller's black humor, sense of irony, and drama are perfectly blended here.

This is the most insane book I have ever come across. On one page, I hated it for being dull, and on the next, I would love it for being super hilarious.

“Insanity is contagious.”

I firmly believe that writing a tragedy is an easier task, but writing something that can make the reader laugh aloud is truly extraordinary.

I will definitely recommend this book to everyone who has a great deal of patience with reading and can laugh at any crazy scenario presented to them.

During my years as a reader, I have realized one thing: every book is unique, and each one has a different set of perspectives. So, when we enter the world of a particular book, we must adapt ourselves to its mold. If we are stubborn, the result will be disastrous, and we will end up hating it.

Let me try to explain this by giving an example. If we are reading a fantasy novel with magic, witches, and centaurs, and we keep chuckling at every point, saying “huh, they don't exist, this is so stupid,” we won't be able to enjoy the book and look beyond its flaws.

Catch-22 is one of those books where you are supposed to enter with a particular mindset (read crazy) to enjoy it.

Just leave your brains aside and enjoy the crazy rollercoaster ride, and you will not be disappointed. If you start trying to make sense of the things that happen in Catch-22 or the characters who are dipshit crazy, you won't enjoy it.

“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was.”

Crazy or insane doesn't even begin to describe this one. It makes no sense most of the time, and that's the beauty of it.

“What do you do when it rains?”

The captain answered frankly. “I get wet.”

“What do you do when you come across a book like Catch-22?”

My answer: “I laugh out loud.”

I’m guilty of compulsively buying new releases and leaving those ‘Must Reads’ near the bottom of my shelves. It’s truly thanks to Hulu for adapting this classic that made me pick it from the pile.

It might sound strange, but I’d rather read the book and also get the benefit of being able to talk to those who have watched the show.

The reader mainly follows bombardier Yossarian, who is currently serving for the U.S. Army Air Forces in Italy during the Second World War.

This unique story, told in a non-chronological third-person narration, pokes fun at the lunacy of war. With Heller himself having served in Italy as a teenager in 1942, there is a real sense of his experiences, slightly exacerbated.

The only real way of keeping track of time passing through the novel is by Colonel Cathcart’s constant raising of the required combat missions before a soldier can return home. Talk about moving the goalposts!

It’s such a complex but rewarding novel, not least due to the amount of characters that are continually introduced. Some are more interesting than others, and we’d all have our favourites. There’s no point in trying to keep track of all of them. Just like the environment they inhabit, these people feel disposable. The reality is that most of them won’t make it to the end of the novel.

I don’t think this book will be for everyone. The humour is an acquired taste. I’m so glad that it clicked for me. It’s definitely the type of book that you’ll know you love after 50 pages.

I really need to start delving into my pile more (not least because it’s starting to get out of hand), and I’ve got so many great novels awaiting for me to enjoy.

"Paragraph 22" is a terrifying amalgamation, oscillating between the tragic and the absurd, with a single chapter that describes in completely frank terms the revelatory and unadorned picture of the results of madness, called "war." In the rest of the book, it presents a history stitched together from different perspectives, at times chaotically fluctuating between the past and the present, without a particularly distinct boundary. In it, the aspirations, the yearnings, the attempts at survival, and the passing of free time, filled with intense anticipation (I deliberately don't mention the word "hope") of the characters are more ironically described. Against the backdrop of military actions, there is a cold-blooded careerism, an insanely large bureaucracy, and a voracious greed. Of course, they are well-intentioned hidden by the people who practice them, under euphemistic epithets such as "ascension for the motherland," "honor," and "part for all."

While someone climbs into the plane to carry out his last combat flight and become brittle pink remains in the air, another below is truly nervously thinking about which of the two mutually hating members of the higher command staff he will please more. Human lives are no more than the clichéd condolence letters that must be sent to the bereaved relatives, and the number of mandatory flights must constantly increase - not for the victory of the motherland in the war, of course - just to gain an advantage over the general of the neighboring air squadron, who has envisaged a smaller number of flights for his group. And, yes - and it's good when the planes drop the bombs over the target, to drop them closer to each other - you understand, so beautiful aerial photographs can be taken and placed in the Saturday Evening Post. So I didn't understand myself who was the greater scumbag - Cathcart, who was sending people to senseless death for his own sake, or Milo, who in the end charged the rescue of a little girl for the sake of smuggled tobacco.

This is a book about madness - about the madness of the mad, about the even deeper madness of the normal. In Joseph Heller's novel, Death is an indescribable character who does not have his own chapter but is always with everyone, sitting on the ground and singing an ugly little song, waiting for his time to come. And they feel it. A book about what you do when you are faced with the inevitable. Some fall in love and find meaning in it - and die. Some don't have the courage - and also die. Others are confused by fear and are ready for anything from despair - and in the end, they still die. And there are those who managed to reach Sweden and survive - strangely, but such things also happen...

In the end, for the more impatient readers, Heller has very frankly said what the whole thing has been about all along. For a moment, things become more real, less surreal, and it no longer seems to you that you have fallen into some "simply crazy farce" of crazy words and actions. War is ugly and naked to the bloody, tattered coca, and thrown in your face. And you will, right now, at least for a moment, believe that there will be retribution. Even the words "You can't take the life of a human being and get away with it, even when that being is a poor servant" foretell it. Because they are not valid only for the specific case, but you want to think that all those who have taken away the hopes and the future of their subordinates will also receive what they deserve. But "there was only one catch... and that was paragraph 22".

Well, there is still some hope in the end. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense.

This book took me an incredibly LONG time to truly get into - a whopping 250 pages, in fact.

I was initially enjoying the story and the sassy/hilarious tone that it carried. However, I also found the storyline and the narrating to be extremely confusing. It felt as if the story and the characters were all over the place, making it very difficult for me to figure out who was who and when the various events took place.

Nevertheless, as I continued reading, this story gradually grew on me. After reaching the halfway point, I started to enjoy it a great deal more. I finally realized how things worked: the storyline isn't linear, which means that you gradually receive answers to all of the questions that have been swirling around in your head since the very first pages. I especially came to like the satirical, repetitive, and hilarious tone of voice that often seemed absurd. I had never read anything quite like this before, and I was really digging it.

My favorite aspect of this story has to be the fact that it offers a completely different take on the Second World War. Since this is a satire, the war is dealt with in a humorous way, and the main character, Yossarian, has an interesting perspective on things. This fresh approach to the devastating war was truly refreshing, and I really admired it.

But due to the fact that it took me so long to get into the book, I've decided to give it a 4-star rating. To those of you who have managed to make it through the first part but have kind of given up, I have to say: Keep going! The story, as well as the language, becomes much more comprehensible, which I think is also symbolic of the story itself. This book gets really great, and I love how it has given me a different view on the Second World War.