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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Absolutely hilarious and heart-wrenching. Possibly the funniest book I’ve ever read, while simultaneously one of the most devastatingly tragic. That’s the Catch I suppose!
It’s incredible how he maintains all of these emotions while slowly ramping them all up equally, not sacrificing one for the sake of the other. The result is wildly bleak scenes (Yossarian’s final walk through Rome for example) juxtaposed with hilarious events (drunk soldiers not knowing what to do with their convulsing compatriot, and continuously transferring him between the ground and the hood of a car). I’ve never seen a book handle the gross incompetence and Kafkaesque attitude of military bureaucracy in so effortlessly funny of a tone.
The beginning of the book was a touch difficult to figure out what was going on, and the timeline and plot can get confusing as it seemingly circles around and around. But I think that’s precisely the point, as we relive some of the same events (such as Snowden’s death) again and again through Yossarian, picking up extra details each time. Much like the experience of deja vu the characters frequently describe experiencing. Once you get past about halfway though it all starts to come together in an immensely satisfying way.
I’ve never been so personally attached to so many characters before (had to put the book down at one particular character’s death). Heller is just a masterful writer, and this may just be my favorite book I’ve ever read.
10/10
It’s incredible how he maintains all of these emotions while slowly ramping them all up equally, not sacrificing one for the sake of the other. The result is wildly bleak scenes (Yossarian’s final walk through Rome for example) juxtaposed with hilarious events (drunk soldiers not knowing what to do with their convulsing compatriot, and continuously transferring him between the ground and the hood of a car). I’ve never seen a book handle the gross incompetence and Kafkaesque attitude of military bureaucracy in so effortlessly funny of a tone.
The beginning of the book was a touch difficult to figure out what was going on, and the timeline and plot can get confusing as it seemingly circles around and around. But I think that’s precisely the point, as we relive some of the same events (such as Snowden’s death) again and again through Yossarian, picking up extra details each time. Much like the experience of deja vu the characters frequently describe experiencing. Once you get past about halfway though it all starts to come together in an immensely satisfying way.
I’ve never been so personally attached to so many characters before (had to put the book down at one particular character’s death). Heller is just a masterful writer, and this may just be my favorite book I’ve ever read.
10/10
DNF at page 89 (16%).
I wanted to like this book. It just wasn’t something I could finish. The author introduced a new character almost every other page. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be much of a plot beyond the fact there was a war going on. Since there wasn’t really a plot, character development was slow or nonexistent. I found it difficult to keep characters straight because of this. It was very unfocused - the chapters were just snippets of stories strung together. Although I appreciate tongue-in-cheek humor, it read like a “who’s on first?” on repeat.
I wanted to like this book. It just wasn’t something I could finish. The author introduced a new character almost every other page. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be much of a plot beyond the fact there was a war going on. Since there wasn’t really a plot, character development was slow or nonexistent. I found it difficult to keep characters straight because of this. It was very unfocused - the chapters were just snippets of stories strung together. Although I appreciate tongue-in-cheek humor, it read like a “who’s on first?” on repeat.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I appreciate what the author did here but that doesn't mean it was an enjoyable read.
This is my first DNF for my 2025 classics re-read challenge but I’m not one bit sorry about it. I could have sworn I loved this book back when I read it in high school. But when I opened it to the first page, it was pure amnesia—I have no recollection of ever reading this book.
In lieu of a review, I’ll leave a quote from The New Yorker’s “literary waterboarding” of a review from the book’s forward: “…doesn’t even seem to have been written; instead it gives the impression of having been shouted onto paper…”
In lieu of a review, I’ll leave a quote from The New Yorker’s “literary waterboarding” of a review from the book’s forward: “…doesn’t even seem to have been written; instead it gives the impression of having been shouted onto paper…”
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
I just could not get in to this book. Ended up not finishing it.
I ignorantly have no clue whether Vonnegut came before Heller or vice versa, but one of those guys certainly owes the other a lot. At it's best, this is Vonnegut without an editor, but at it's worst, this is Vonnegut without an editor.
You'd have to be crazy to write a 450-page satirical deep-dive into World War II where every other page is just Abbott and Costello-level verbal slapstick, and you'd have to be genius to make it somehow ooze with feeling and insight. Anyone crazy enough to write the book couldn't possibly be genius enough to make it mean something, and anyone genius enough to inject meaning into it couldn't possibly be crazy enough to write it in the first place. That's the only catch, but it's a doozy.
Of course, just as Yossarian (and the book around him) manages to pull a miraculous, sublime ending out of all the lunacy of his world, so too does there exist a third option, an escape clause to this catch-22. Perhaps one man could be crazy enough to write this and genius enough to make it count, by simply hanging all the funniest and most infuriating contradictions inherent in Yossarian's world and ours out to dry, leaving us to laugh until the truth of it all settles in. Then again, if Yossarian could make his getaway, why can't we?
You'd have to be crazy to write a 450-page satirical deep-dive into World War II where every other page is just Abbott and Costello-level verbal slapstick, and you'd have to be genius to make it somehow ooze with feeling and insight. Anyone crazy enough to write the book couldn't possibly be genius enough to make it mean something, and anyone genius enough to inject meaning into it couldn't possibly be crazy enough to write it in the first place. That's the only catch, but it's a doozy.
Of course, just as Yossarian (and the book around him) manages to pull a miraculous, sublime ending out of all the lunacy of his world, so too does there exist a third option, an escape clause to this catch-22. Perhaps one man could be crazy enough to write this and genius enough to make it count, by simply hanging all the funniest and most infuriating contradictions inherent in Yossarian's world and ours out to dry, leaving us to laugh until the truth of it all settles in. Then again, if Yossarian could make his getaway, why can't we?