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Catch-22 (Paperback)

by Joseph Heller (Author) "It was love at first sight ..." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (257 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (6 Oct 1994)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099477319
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099477310
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (257 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 685 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Heller, Joseph
    #1 in  Books > Fiction > Genre > War
    #12 in  Books > Fiction > By Period > 20th Century

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Product Description

Financial Times

Blessedly, monstrously, bloatedly, cynically funny, and fantastically unique.


Observer

The greatest satirical work in the English language since EREHWON
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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First Sentence
It was love at first sight. Read the first page
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Catch-22
82% buy the item featured on this page:
Catch-22 4.4 out of 5 stars (257)
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The Catcher in the Rye
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The Catcher in the Rye 4.1 out of 5 stars (273)
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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Customer Reviews

257 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (257 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of three, 24 Jun 2008
Believe it or not, my parents recommended this book to me. All I can say is, for once they were right. I've only read two other books that so blew me away in their conception and execution and those were "Clockwork Orange" and "Barring Some Unforeseen Accident" by McCrae. But even those can't compare to "Catch 22. What a wild ride this well crafted book is. To say it's thought-provoking is a cliche, but there it is. Sort of like "1984" probably was before 1984. Some have likened this to MASH and the Korean war, and I can see those similarities, but the book is really meant to be read on a much broader level; a level of humanity in general and not one specific event or time period. The book is funny and challenging, but that seems to me to be what one would be looking for in a great novel. There's reason this book has been around for eons--it's simply a great novel that holds up to the test of time.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate exploration of the human condition, 20 Nov 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Catch-22 (Everyman's Library classics) (Hardcover)
On the surface, Catch-22 is a fine novel about the U.S Army Air Force in Europe during the 1939-45 war. You do not have to scratch the surface hard to find a classic, timeless novel of the fine line between sanity and total madness. Is Yossarian, the 'hero', totally sane, or utterly, irredeemably insane? You tell me. Catch-22 is unique in its ability to thrust confusion, frustration, despair, insanity, death and plain old fashioned misery in waves - and yet repeatedly surprise you with its sidesplitting humour. When you laugh, you are not laughing at Heller's finely crafted characters, with all their idiosyncrasies, but at yourself, your friends and relatives. Because Heller's situations mirror the daily stupidities that we all put up with, laugh about and cry about. Reading Catch-22 is like sitting through the main feature a second time - you know exactly what will happen next; you know that nothing can change it. You cannot help hoping that it won't be so bad. But, of course, it's worse.
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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
This review is from: Catch-22 (Vintage Classics) (Paperback)
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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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Occasionally funny but mostly confusing
I didn't actually like this book very much, and to be honest, didn't really think it was that good. There were definitely some funny and some powerful scenes, but as a whole I... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Sulkyblue

1.0 out of 5 stars Like being beaten over the head by a bad comedian.
What a dollop of tripe this book was. It was so consumed with it's wittiness and hilarity that it was neither. Read more
Published 18 days ago by L. Freeman

4.0 out of 5 stars Repetition: between annoyance and purpose
There is a point in this book when you feel you're reading the same passage over and over; the single concept of the eponymous Catch-22 paradox repeated over and over and over... Read more
Published 23 days ago by M. E. Bushra

5.0 out of 5 stars An absurd masterpiece, 5***** Read it!!!!!
Heller's 'Catch-22' is one of my favourite books, and probably the one I have read the most times in my adult life. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. M. Barnes

5.0 out of 5 stars Catch-22 Book
I read the book when it first came out in the '60's and Catch-22 became a well used phrase in my life since. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Cire

5.0 out of 5 stars A commonly misunderstood Work by a slightly insane genius
Catch - 22 deserves its reputation. Many people find it their all time favourite novel. I don't, but its certainly one of the top few. Read more
Published 2 months ago by E. Cronan

5.0 out of 5 stars Satire at its best
This is very humorous and I would thoroughly recommend reading it. At 17 I attempted it in school but with maturity I was able to perciever and get entranced by the wonderful... Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. Harries

4.0 out of 5 stars A weird one!!
I really struggled to get into this story. This is odd for me as I normally take to books very quickly. The story is very scatty. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ms. K. Colbeck

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW
I read this book knowing nothing about it at first I found it hard to get into as the structure is disjointed but as I read on I realised this is just one of the many truly... Read more
Published 4 months ago by A Reader

4.0 out of 5 stars suprised me by the end
My sole reasons for buying and reading this book are that I desperately needed something to distract me from my shameful addiction to the Twilight novels and Amazon recommended me... Read more
Published 4 months ago by H. Turley

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