5 ratings (4.60 avg)
4 reviews

Jacob

Add friend

Jacob’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (1)

currently-reading‎ (2)

read‎ (5)

Stats | More…

Jacob is Currently Reading

Jacob is currently reading

Catch-22

by Joseph Heller

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in May 2019

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jacob said: " Most of this interesting book of Catch-22 was taken place in a small little isolated island named Pianosa, west of “The Boot” Italy. The main character of this novel is a bombardier of the Air Force that goes by the name Yossarian. He’s convinced tha Most of this interesting book of Catch-22 was taken place in a small little isolated island named Pianosa, west of “The Boot” Italy. The main character of this novel is a bombardier of the Air Force that goes by the name Yossarian. He’s convinced that everyone is trying to kill him, and his one wish is to survive the madness of World War II. One of Yossarians closest and constant friends is Chaplain Tappman, a priest who loves god and has no clue what he’s doing in the military. He is kind and weak-willed, but he firmly believes in trying to save human life. Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder is a very friendly and well liked, but shrewd businessman in the squadron. He used military airplanes to run his black market enterprise, justified illegal activities, and only concern was profit. Finally there is Doc Daneeka, the groups insensitive doctor, who refused to help any of the men with their illnesses or problems.
The conflict in this book is that every situation has a Catch-22, which is essentially “you’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t.” The title Catch-22 gets its name from a military policy catch in which by declaring yourself insane, you can be sent home. The catch is that to declare yourself insane and get sent home, you are proving yourself perfectly sane. Those who are truly insane, wish to continue fighting until they get themselves killed. Yossarian struggles to stay alive, despite the many parties who seem to want him dead.
This intriguing piece of work by Joseph Heller was nothing like I’ve ever read before, both in a positive and negative way. This book was incredibly clever with its frequent use of satire. It’s funny and entertaining, but at the same time it shows us the hypocrisy and ugliness of war. Not everything is about patriotism or love of country because as this book highlights, it is also about selfishness and love for self. This book offers a different perspective of wartime and how leaders are brainwashing, enriching themselves, and lining their pockets. The thing I disliked the most was it’s in non-chronological order and the perspective frequently changes between the forty some characters.
Also there was only one point in the book a woman was referred to, while not being described as some form of sex object. I also felt some of the passages were too wordy at times.
This book is for anyone who wants to look at the crazy and tormented minds of people who go to war. For the odd ones who enjoy reading books that don't go in order, but instead involves flashbacks, this is definitely for you. Sound confusing? That’s the idea--so is war. It is comical and there was more action than I suspected. Also there was a lot of graphic sexual actions in this novel, so preferably the age range should be no younger than fifteen. Personally, I have no idea what Joseph was trying to achieve in writing this, but there are most likely some hidden notes and important quotes spoken of that I missed. I most likely wouldn’t read it again, but you never know, I might need to know more about World War II and go back to this book. ...more "

May 28, 2019 04:04PM · see review