Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A satirical masterpiece, 23 Jun 2004
I recommend this novel as a magnificent satire on warfare and the human condition. Set in the Second World War in allied-conquered Italy, it contrives to be hilarious and tragic simultaneously. The hero of the novel, Yossarian, is an individual not afraid to declare his hatred for war and the novel is constructed around his many attempts to be allowed home. It demonstrates the pointlessness of war and the suffering of the pilots who flew bombing missions. It is, however, tremendously funny as each and every character is ridiculed. Heller satirises capitalism and commercialism through his entrepreneurial character Milo and this particular aspect of the book is incredibly funny in a gallows humour way. The novel is about madness, and the entrapment of everyone in the title of the work, Catch-22. One example of the many in the novel; Yossarian does not want to fly any more missions, but the only way he can get out of them is to be declared insane. Yet if he declares himself insane, the generals will know he is sane for wanting to get out of the missions in the first place, since only a mad person would want to fly the missions! It does not sensitively explore human relationships in warfare as Birdsong does but does well exhibit the weakness and selfishness of humans in times of adversity. War is not about comradeship, but survival of the fittest. Heller writes with incredible insight into the human condition, and his experience of serving as a bombardier in the war obviously has immensely influenced him. Although the context is the Second World War, what it has to say about the incompetence of leaders and the futility of war is relevant to any conflict. The novel is not particularly compassionate, is graphic, and does not refrain from heavy criticism of those who forced Yossarian into war and continued the conflict. Heller is to be applauded for such a controversial work since it was written not long after the war and first published in 1961. It is an anti-war novel like All Quiet on The Western Front but is much more like George Orwell's 1984 or Animal Farm in its satirical style. Much of his writing may outrage some readers, but if you want to read a satirical masterpiece set in a time of conflict, there is nothing better and if proof is needed of its popularity, it was voted well into Britain's top 21 books last year.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best novels i have ever read, 26 Feb 2006
By A Customer
Definitely recommended to anyone with the patience to get to the end; I found it heavy going at times, but I would put that down more to me only being 17 than anything to the authors writing skills. It was a tremendous read and had me laughing aloud frequently. The absurd situations the characters find themselves in speak of real life emotion as well as being highly funny.A hilarious but poignant book, you will have a great time reading it, but a hard time defining it afterwards.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best 20th century novels about the absurdity of war, 29 Jul 2007
This used to be required reading when I was at school: it wasn't on the syllabus but it was a 'mind-broadener'.
It is incredibly dense and the cast of characters is unwieldly until you settle into Heller's rhythm. At that point, when you're settled, you realise just what a joy the book is and what a superb study of greed, corruption, madness, sanity, vanity, selfishness and humour. Most of all humour, set against the backdrop of a horrible war that always seems to be taking place somewhere else.
Only by retaining his sense of humour does Yossarian, the protagonist, survive the bumbling inefficiencies of his own side and the stubbornness of the enemy.
What war it is, what century it is, what nation it is are almost irrelevant because Heller drills down fast into what makes human beings tick, especially when put into impossible and absurd situations.
If you haven't read this, do yourself a favour and give it a whirl. It is not an easy read, as other reviewers have commented, but it is an immensely rewarding one. It'll have you going all summer long (that is, if we have one - UK readers will understand).
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