Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Some parts of it are a bit dated (like finding the sexual assault of a nurse hilarious), but it all does weave into the greater narrative that is Catch-22, which is still relevant today on many levels.

Yossarian, who is dealing with what we now know as PTSD, is trying to survive the war. Whereas everyone else seems to be trying to kill him, and it doesn't bother them at all. He finds solace in sex and intimacy, and that's about it, and it's fleeting when he does get his chance. His fellow soldiers and superiors are all trying to survive as well, usually through entirely selfish means, and always at the expense of someone else.

Yosarrian can't trust anybody and is assailed from all sides from every sort of madness the war can throw at him. His mental and physical health starts to deteriorate as the big guys in charge push him to more and more extremes. No one ever acknowledges the war crimes, the prostitution, the exploitation of civilians, the black market, or the horribly violent deaths everyone dies from. Yossarian is going crazy, but the army won't let him out unless he asks but then that means he's not crazy because only a crazy person would want to stay in. Catch-22.

The book is riddled with clever bits of dialogue, back and forths that will have you cackling. There's a lot of slapstick, rumpy pumpy, and jokes that pay off in the end. You will see where Black Adder, Monty Python, MASH, too many sitcoms and stand up to count, have taken their inspiration from this classic novel. It is very long though, and I had to take breaks because sometimes, I felt like I was going mad. Poor Yossarian, going around in circles with no way out.

You will laugh and cry at everything he goes through. Just be aware, this was written in the 50s and it shows. It doesn't have any flattering female characters, but then, no one in Catch 22 is what I'd call a good or likeable person. But you will sympathize with them, and maybe you'll see some of these own people in your own life, and have a chuckle.



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