Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Quite possibly the best book I've ever read, 17 Jan 2000
By A Customer
I had heard of Catch 22, as of course most people have, but I had never had my hands on a copy, then I finally decided I would read it, and that was one of the best book reading decisions I ever made. This book is amazing, the insight, the humour, it is all just incredible. The humour of the book seems to make the points in it hit home all the harder. The way that the serious subject matter has been dealt with is just amazing.The people in this book seem so real, their thoughts, their fears, their habits, you hear about them all, and they become real to you, you know them. Ok, this book hasn't changed my life, and possibly not even the way I see the world, but it certainly made me think. I don't have a large enough vocabulary to express the quality of this book, and if I did I would vastly exceed the word limit for these reviews, so I will simply finish by saying, read it, savour it, remember.
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
Yossarian lives!, 5 Dec 2002
By A Customer
A few years ago i was working at a small factory, and while sitting in the cafeteria i couldn't help but notice a loud chuckle every now and then. when i looked over to see where this silly sounding laugh was coming from, i noticed a co-worker with a book in his hand. On asking what it was he was reading he lifted the cover to show me, Catch 22.I asked if it was any good and immediately he handed me the book and said 'go to chapter 3'. I took it, and not really wanting to sample a book during my break, i began reading about Orr's apple cheeks. I can barely hold back a chuckle just thinking about it. Needless to say i bought the book at the end of the week and to my surprise, every page is filled with diabolical humour laden with a kind of ironic seriousness.
This is, without question, my all time number 1 favourite book. I never did get to thank my co-worker for having introduced this to me. But I hope this review will be introduction enough for you to find your new favourite. BUY! BUY! BUY!
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Unadulterated genius. 5* without a doubt, 20 Jul 2006
Catch-22 is a novel told mainly from the viewpoint of Yossarian, whose duty is to fly bombing missions during the Second World War. Yossarian realises his life is in danger on these missions because of the constant power struggles between the various lieutenants, colonels, generals in this morally corrupt, yet often frighteningly logical, infrastructure.
Sometimes I found this novel absolutely infuriating: because of the attitudes of some of the characters, because of the way events are described but most of all because of the injustice that is slyly excused because of clever, but just ridiculous, amoral logic. But often it is just this that makes it absolutely hilarious, the interactions become completely absurd but the characters take themselves completely seriously.
It sometimes just reminds me of Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, or Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove to draw a visual parallel.
The author has an outstanding knack for describing the tone of discussion just to a complete T, sometimes the number of individuals in the scene can be quite confusing but you are never at a loss as to HOW a character is expressing themselves and I feel this makes for a very powerful tool in writing a timeless novel.
Here is a sample of some of the emotions you will experience in this novel; they are truly unavoidable and it will completely astound you:
-You will smirk and giggle
-Sometime laugh embarrassingly loud,
-You will wonder `what-the-hell??' at some of the weird, silly, and absurd things the characters say and do, for example a Major just suddenly jumping out of a window when the door to his office is opened.
-Feel misery and pity, complete anger, annoyance/irritation directed at individuals
-Empathy, disgust, wonder, confusion
-That horrible feeling you get when you know something bad is going to happen
-Sheer adrenaline during the flight missions
-Lust and sensuality, which is naturally heightened by the fact that the characters have the fear of death (it's just how we're evolved, it can't be helped)
I mean, I could go on. This is just not something to be missed. It's painfully well written: a complete and utter 5* modern masterpiece.
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