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alterdd's review against another edition
4.75
- 10% lusting about women
- 85% absurd shit happening
- 5% brutal depictions of henious crimes and war
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
yeah_sure's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Riding the high of finishing this book, it is genius but it is also deceptively LONG and it drags, not in the sense that it's boring but in the sense that it is winding and cumbersome. Finishing it took a great deal of my time and sanity. Not entirely unproblematic either, but if you're in the mood, it is extremely clever, funny and thought provoking
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Gore
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, and Suicide
Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Murder
lizardcha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
kaibigan23's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A very funny book about times in war. Yes, war can be so dark but the realities that the character in this book have been felt from my end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, War, and Gun violence
niamhbereading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
catch 22 is one of the most fun american classics i've ever read. it has the strong, profound writing that all the american classics share, but it's digestible & its plot is relateable even if you never fought in wwii.
this book is not plot based at all. the plot is introduced in the first chapter: yossarian, a fighter pilot based in pianosa, has flown enough missions to be released from service & sent home in the states. however, everytime he Should be sent home, colonel cathcart raises the mission requirement, so yossarian and the other pilots are stuck there. this is elaborated on further into the book: the only way to be sent home other than flying the required missions is to be crazy, but in order to be found crazy you must admit to the doctor that you're crazy, & that in itself is proof that you're not crazy. that's the catch 22! but as soon as that's established like 50 or so pages in, the book shifts. most of the book focuses on other side characters, like the chaplain, milo, nately, & so forth. though yossarian is the protagonist & holds the main conflict, the book is not about him. it's an ensemble piece focusing on everyone in the squadron.
i, personally, loved that this book was an ensemble piece! each character's story was so unique & fleshed out, balancing comedic scenes & darker ones. the book is constantly moving, though the pace is manageable. i said that this book has a slow pace because the plot is very loose & doesn't move quickly. however, a lot still happens in this book, it just doesn't always play into yossarian's conflict.
the one thing about this book that irked me is the cast of characters. it's just so Huge. there's at least twenty-five characters who each have their own backstory or importance to the plot. they're all well written & distinct, but i just don't know how to imagine that many characters LOL. after a while, when a new character was introduced, i'd struggle to give them a face. then later on, when characters from earlier were being called back, i forgot how i imagined them. it didn't help that this book is about american wwii soldiers so most of the characters were white men. this may not be a problem for you if you're good at imagining characters, i just felt the need to mention it.
catch 22 has a lot to say on the impact of war & how it functions in american society. so much so that my brain is kinda blown apart from it. but this book is NOT preachy! overall it is more fun than anything else. you could have a field day dissecting this book. it is a surprisingly intellectual read.
this book is not plot based at all. the plot is introduced in the first chapter: yossarian, a fighter pilot based in pianosa, has flown enough missions to be released from service & sent home in the states. however, everytime he Should be sent home, colonel cathcart raises the mission requirement, so yossarian and the other pilots are stuck there. this is elaborated on further into the book: the only way to be sent home other than flying the required missions is to be crazy, but in order to be found crazy you must admit to the doctor that you're crazy, & that in itself is proof that you're not crazy. that's the catch 22! but as soon as that's established like 50 or so pages in, the book shifts. most of the book focuses on other side characters, like the chaplain, milo, nately, & so forth. though yossarian is the protagonist & holds the main conflict, the book is not about him. it's an ensemble piece focusing on everyone in the squadron.
i, personally, loved that this book was an ensemble piece! each character's story was so unique & fleshed out, balancing comedic scenes & darker ones. the book is constantly moving, though the pace is manageable. i said that this book has a slow pace because the plot is very loose & doesn't move quickly. however, a lot still happens in this book, it just doesn't always play into yossarian's conflict.
the one thing about this book that irked me is the cast of characters. it's just so Huge. there's at least twenty-five characters who each have their own backstory or importance to the plot. they're all well written & distinct, but i just don't know how to imagine that many characters LOL. after a while, when a new character was introduced, i'd struggle to give them a face. then later on, when characters from earlier were being called back, i forgot how i imagined them. it didn't help that this book is about american wwii soldiers so most of the characters were white men. this may not be a problem for you if you're good at imagining characters, i just felt the need to mention it.
catch 22 has a lot to say on the impact of war & how it functions in american society. so much so that my brain is kinda blown apart from it. but this book is NOT preachy! overall it is more fun than anything else. you could have a field day dissecting this book. it is a surprisingly intellectual read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Gore, and War
Minor: Rape
this book is about world war II. there are discussions of soldiers who died and, in the second to last chapter, a detailed scene of a soldier dying w gore. there is also a mention of a woman being raped and then killed by a soldier.lizardflake's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Violence
Minor: Rape
loki_the_cat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Death
Moderate: Rape
addictedtoanntations's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
absolutely adored this book. It takes risks, is raw, dark, satirical, funny, with the wittiest dialogue I’ve ever read. It doesn’t shy away from showing grit, and morally questionable sides of war, from violence, to how institutions are run, to prostitution. To this day it draws parallels to flaws in today’s society which was refreshing, eye-opening, and terrifying all into one. Phenomenal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Cursing, Racial slurs, War, and Sexual content
Minor: Terminal illness and Sexual assault
whoischels's review against another edition
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Probably the most chaotic book I've ever read. I can't say I've read a book that ignores sequential time so thoroughly. Heller jumps between events gracefully. You'll often find that the narrator begins to recount something that happened quite far in the future or past of the camp on Pianosa, but you don't quite develop an understanding of how distant future and past are until you've reached the end and various characters have died off and been replaced by new, untrauma-ed characters. The manipulation of time is breathtaking and exciting once you look back and think about what you've read. I'm surprised I haven't heard this book being discussed in the context of other time bending books, like To the Lighthouse, perhaps I just haven't been listening closely enough about why people read this book.
As the classic comedy of war book, it's a very comedic read. The comedic style throughout the whole thing undergoes its own character development in a way that is quite satisfying. It works to keep the horror of the experience of war at arm's length for the majority of the book and then slowly brings it closer for the end. Heller captures the comedic dichotomy between the very visceral body horror that people experience at war and the slow machine of bureaucracy.
My only complaints are that it's a behemoth to read. Heller can be describing an event that is comedic in its conception, but do so in a way that obstructs feeling, particularly in the first 2/3. I understand this to be intentional, but was still a bit frustrated with the masculine boringness of the prose. It's an odd experience to read something that has these features but still manages to be so dynamic and flexible in its plot structure.
As the classic comedy of war book, it's a very comedic read. The comedic style throughout the whole thing undergoes its own character development in a way that is quite satisfying. It works to keep the horror of the experience of war at arm's length for the majority of the book and then slowly brings it closer for the end. Heller captures the comedic dichotomy between the very visceral body horror that people experience at war and the slow machine of bureaucracy.
My only complaints are that it's a behemoth to read. Heller can be describing an event that is comedic in its conception, but do so in a way that obstructs feeling, particularly in the first 2/3. I understand this to be intentional, but was still a bit frustrated with the masculine boringness of the prose. It's an odd experience to read something that has these features but still manages to be so dynamic and flexible in its plot structure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, War, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault and Misogyny
bibliorama's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This might change. The beast is done though.
Enjoyment - 2.5
This book really takes awhile before it starts trusting you with its emotional baggage. Most of the humor was used to mask the trauma that Joseph Heller was definitely processing through the writing. The 12 year old virgin jokes got old, milo running around got old, etc. In fact, the Milo the Mayor chapter should have been cut entirely (imo), it has some of the most dated jokes and the important info learned from the chapter is reiterated in the Milo chapter. There were heavy, poignant moments but they were covered up by the writing style and dated humor.
Characters - 3
Atmosphere - 2.5
Plot - 3
Ending - 4
Style - 3.5
Overall - 3
Enjoyment - 2.5
This book really takes awhile before it starts trusting you with its emotional baggage. Most of the humor was used to mask the trauma that Joseph Heller was definitely processing through the writing. The 12 year old virgin jokes got old, milo running around got old, etc. In fact, the Milo the Mayor chapter should have been cut entirely (imo), it has some of the most dated jokes and the important info learned from the chapter is reiterated in the Milo chapter. There were heavy, poignant moments but they were covered up by the writing style and dated humor.
Characters - 3
Atmosphere - 2.5
Plot - 3
Ending - 4
Style - 3.5
Overall - 3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and War
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape