Book info

• Title Catch-22
• Author Joseph Heller
• Year 1961
• Genre Historical

It's the closing months of World War II and Yossarian has never been closer to death. Stationed in an American bomber squadron off the coast of Italy, each flight mission introduces him to thousands of people determined to kill him. But the enemy above is not Yossarian's problem - it is his own army intent on keeping him airborne, and the maddening 'Catch-22' that allows for no possibility of escape.

Thoughts

My prior knowledge of Catch 22 was simply the phrase. The beautifully circular nature of unfortunate incidents. I didn’t know it was a book, or a film, and so I was keen to learn.

I can’t honestly say that I enjoyed the book, but there were bits of it I liked. Just like the concept of Catch 22 itself, Joseph Heller’s writing was repetitive and full of riddles. Sometimes I wasn’t sure I knew what was going on, and I’d have to read a conversation several times to make sure I could follow it. Other times it was easy to keep up.

The overriding plot started out as more of a character study, introducing each new person in turn and adding to the story as each name popped up. Towards the end of the book, things turned a lot darker, with death and depression becoming key factors.

At first I couldn’t reconcile the two in my head, they seemed like completely different stories, but ultimately I guess that is what war was like. Time split between idling and trying to cling on to sanity, before a burst of action, and‚ unavoidably‚ death.

It’s not a book I would start recommending, but it’s something I am happy to have read; and at least partially understood.

Rating: 3 / 5