Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition Paperback – 23 Jun. 2011

Catch-22 is perhaps the most bizarre novel I've read. It's tangential, disjointed funny and sad. It's very much tongue-in-cheek for the vast majority of the time, but when it it's not, it's poignant. From some of the most insane dialogue to scenes of personal horror, the book ties together the literal madness of war and the gritty truth of it.The idea of Catch-22 has become part of the general vernacular in most English speaking nations since the 1970s and most of us have used it to describe a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. The catch stems from the idea that as a combat pilot, you can only be grounded in perfect physical health if you're mad. If you ask to be grounded though, you must be sane because only mad men want to fly combat missions. Having asked to be grounded, how do you then prove you're mad? Do you go on parade naked? Do you attend a funeral sitting naked up a nearby tree? Do you have horrific nightmares at the thought of flying no more missions? You can try, but you won't succeed because of Catch-22.When you read this novel, you'll quickly discover that such a catch can only exist because everyone is mad. From Private to General, there is not a sane man to be found. Even the psychiatrist is quite plainly mad. The result is some real laugh out loud moments as we follow Yossarian through his struggles to be sent home alive. But when we read of the horrors through which he has lived, we begin to understand.There isn't too much dwelling on the facts of post-traumatic stress, and if you didn't know of such a thing, you would find it hard to spot in the novel - it is never discussed, never referred to and the resulting madness seems part of everyday life on base.I found I came to like Yossarian and think him the most sane of all, especially in comparison to the likes of Hungry Joe, Colonel Korn and General Scheisskopf (you don't need to know much German to see what Heller did there!).I found Catch-22 wasn't a novel I felt compelled to keep reading, largely because of its disjointed nature - it does hop around in time and space a lot - but when I did pick it up, I flew through it, often smiling to myself, often with an eyebrow raised. I smiled when I finished the book because ultimately I really enjoyed it. I now want to get my hands on the film and see just how true to the book it manages to stay.

*Minor spoilers*The quirky characters and dialogue are the stars of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, with the actual plot-line enjoyable but a a tad drawn out.The story follows John Yossarian as he repeatedly tries to get out of missions as a member of the US Air Force in World War Two. There’s a sense of dark humour as the characters’ efforts to evade their duty is the primary focus, while deaths and injuries are just taken for granted and part of the norm from chapter to chapter. As more of Yossarian’s friends are stricken down or battle with sanity, the horrific ordeals of WW2 are described almost in a blasé fashion. This unique descriptive method actually serves as a breath of fresh air in a twisted way, and actually helps drill home the horrors of the story.The dialogue too nearly made me laugh out loud on several occasions, with characters failing to understand each other and repeated statements bringing a surreal, often comical juxtaposition to the topic that’s actually being discussed. This meant that, although similar conversations do take place throughout the novel, there can usually be a refreshing take each time and characters become more memorable via their quirky speech patterns.The book did tail off towards the end, as the repeated issue of the squadron being punished by having their required number of flight missions raised again and again did get a bit old. Again, it’s done in a knowing way that it’s exaggerated and over-the-top, but it did eventually get a bit stale.If nothing else, I was pleased to finally learn the origin of the saying ‘catch-22’; being the paradox that an insane military man would be relieved of service, but anyone declaring themself as insane in a bid to get out of their duty would be rejected, as they are deemed sane enough to be looking out for their well-being.It’s well worth a read, but could’ve done with being maybe 50-100 pages shorter. The characters will live long in the memory though, and it’s certainly a unique read.

I don't know what took me so long to read this iconic book. I guess I saw the movie when I was much younger and then left it alone.Weirdly I wonder if I might not have understood/enjoyed the book as much if I had when I was much younger.I thought it was brilliant from start to finish. It does perhaps take a bit of effort to stay with the nuances of the multiple characters and flitting between events and interactions at different points in time. But it is worth the effort. Relationships become better understood, as do the personality traits and mental wellbeing of all the characters. Much of the story reads like a classic farce (echoes of Monty Python and Spike Milligan) and is truly hilarious at times. Beneath the surface I found a more sombre story about the brutality and randomness of violence within wartime and the sheer incompetence and inadequacies of most of the protagonists. The flight crews deeply traumatised by constant combat missions and changing goalposts for their return home. The senior officers with over-inflated egos and ambitions, which massively outweighed their abilities and their courage. The lower ranks, who had managed to carve out ways of avoiding combat, desperately striving to maintain their precious positions.Heller manages to make the laugh-out-loud moments simultaneously poignant and the brutal/tragic bits simultaneously mundane or even funny.The book is a masterpiece in my opinion. If you haven't yet read it - do so now!

I enjoyed this book.

To be honest, I found this book a bit of a grind. Some chapters captured me, others did not. This may be to the fact that I have a new born and have been intermittent finding prolonged reading time. Still glad a read it though. I believe some of the characters will stay with me.

First read this year's ago and decided it was time to read it again.