Joseph Heller - Catch-22

Pros: Interesting characters and plot
Cons: Too many characters that make the plot a tad confusing

In school we had to pick a book to read and write a report about and while looking through books I came across Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I checked it out for a few reasons with the first being that I had heard the phrase “catch 22” used by a lot ...

Pros: Hillarious and insightful - it's brilliant.
Cons: I can't read it for the first time again.

Like the title says, Catch 22 is one of my favourite books ever. I've read it a half dozen times in its entirety (the second time, I read it in one sitting). Obviously, it's one of the books I'd take to a desert island. I've also carried a battered ...

Pros: Many tales told in one; switches from cynical humor to horrendous tragedies
Cons: None that I can see

Although high school is out for yet another summer, my delightful teachers of next year have already assigned another assignment for my European history and language and composition college courses: I am to read two novels by the first week of school....

Pros: Funny moments, interesting concept of Catch-22.
Cons: Overlong, monotonous, etc.

Reading Catch-22 is kind of like watching a marathon of MASH in that, though the antics are initially humorous and endearing, the schtick gets old after awhile. And when you get down to it, what is Joseph Heller's 1961 novel BUT a single gimmick, namely ...

Pros: Darkly humorous. Extremely witty. Deep and full of meaning.
Cons: May take some patience.

I was traveling out in the Southwest United States when I initially tried to read Catch-22. Maybe I didn't get far because I was in a van and I am prone to motion sickness. Maybe I didn't finish because I was sharing the book with a friend and I ...

Pros: Funny, satirical and wonerful character development
Cons: None

Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" requires a certain mood from the reader. It requires the reader to be open to cynicism, to absurdity, to satire of the most biting variety. Catch-22 requires the reader to laugh at that which is held most sacred.
...

Pros: Funny and tragic all at once, Heller has created something that will forver stand the test of time.
Cons: It's politics will be deemed too radical by many, and they will truly miss out.

The greatness of Joesph Heller's Catch-22 cannot possibly be overstated. It is simply one of the finest books ever written, and one can only hope that it will continue to be read by people young and old forever.

The novel is considered a...

Pros: This a trulely unusual book that is definately a must read
Cons: none

Who is more dangerous to your sense of self-preservation, the enemy soldier who wants to kill you, or the superior officer who orders you into hostile fire? Joseph Heller took everything that is wrong and insane about war and bureaucracy and turned it...

Pros: Hilarious and horrifying, rich and wonderful characters, a timeless classic
Cons: Non-linear plotline can be difficult to follow on the first read-through

You're a sane person. You're placed in a situation where strangers try to kill you, your friends can be smiling one day and gone the next, your superiors plot parades and the demise of each others' careers, and your roommate is a Dead Man. What do you...

Pros: Brilliant literature, versatile novel
Cons: May or may not require repeated readings, suffers tedious "post-modern" pigeon-holing from the ivory tower, making actual discussion difficult

I didn't "get" 'Catch-22' the first time I read it. I was a pre-teen; I can be forgiven. I think, sadly, a lot of adults can maybe be forgiven for similar trespasses if they treat it as light reading: the book really does demand repeated...

Pros: Intelligent and relevant, yet entertaining and humorous...overall, the perfect book
Cons: Unusual plot sequence, plus a bit wordy and confusing to some

A bit of a warning: this book is NOT for everyone.

If you're in high school, chances are you won't appreciate this book. If you hate Tarantino movies because you can't understand the plot flow, you won't understand this book. If you've...

Pros: Hilarious! Grand bit of social commentary!
Cons: At times it feels poorly written.

If I recommend this book, then you'll know I'm crazy. But if you know I'm crazy, why would you listen to me recommend this book?

That's _Catch-22_. It's about war. It's about not wanting to be in the war. The only way you can get out is...

Pros: A Masterpiece
Cons: None

Like the others who have written reviews of Catch 22, I first read Heller's jaundiced view of the bureaucracy of war as a youngster. Unlike the others, I immediately related to it and understood the Yossarian view, probably because I was an immigrant...

Pros: Witty, dry, clever and engrossing
Cons: The only down side is that, at some point, you finish the book

Catch-22 is a caustic, sarcastic and satirical look into the hierarchy of power, war, business and sanity. Heller paints a picture with his words which brings the harsh realities of life into clear and fuzzy focus. The text is frequently run-on,...

Pros: In depth information
Cons: hard to understand

Joseph Heller is a genius. This novel about a WWII pilot who is caught in a bind brings out the social problems of the world in a simplistic yet dramatic fashion that has to be seen with the greatest leway.

The title of the Novel...