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Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller's subversive, chaotic portrait of the insanity of war.
Joseph Heller’s classic novel conforms to neither logic nor conventions. It doesn’t even have a chronological progression of events. Men who are dead at the onset of the novel are suddenly having a conversation with the protagonist midway through. Catch-22 is one the most confounding and challenging novels I have ever read, yet also one of the most fascinating. Set in WWII, the novel uses humor to portray the insanity of war. Catch-22’s protagonist is the endlessly scheming Yossarian, a bombardier determined to save his neck in a place where thousands of strangers are doing their utmost to end his life. But all of his plots are stymied by a Catch-22: any man unwilling to fly is sane and therefore must complete his tour of duty. But any man who actually wants to fly is insane, yet is still not excused from duty, because the formal request required to be relieved of his post would designate him as sane.
Heller mocks the bureaucracy of war in this subversive, hilarious novel that endures today as an American classic. The closest thing I can equate the novel with is the TV series M*A*S*H. The theme of the insanity of war runs through both works, and both have an edge of dark comedy, yet Heller’s novel makes even less sense than M*A*S*H. The novel is at once tragic, hilarious, and dark. A challenging and rewarding novel, Catch-22 will nevertheless not appeal to everyone.
Title: Catch-22
Author: Joseph Heller
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0684833395
Review written by: Jess Boettger
Reviewer's Rating:8
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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