Reviews tagging 'Death'

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

79 reviews

dark funny reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

It's super funny, until it's not anymore. The switch happens towards the end of the book and is very well done.

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challenging emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Catch-22 provided me one of the most vivid reading experiences that I've ever had.  There was so much of the book I could perfectly visualize.  I loved the themes, the absurdity, the structure, everything about it.

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adventurous challenging dark funny slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

barring the consideration that none of the women are considered people..this book is very funny and interesting to listen to. i think the narrator did a great job at voicing different characters and making this easy to follow with such a big cast. 

i think the book really captured the idea that just a bunch of bozos were drafted into a war with no desire to be there. the types of antics men will get up to if they feel like they have nothing to lose or are just in an impossible situation. the ending was a bit abrupt, i feel like i want to listen to all the parts with Orr in it again....but i probably won't for at least a while. 

i was so excited when i thought yossarian might be crazy/angry enough to kill aarfy...but it didn't happen :(

this book also, i think, really captures how dumb war is. especially from those forced to take part in it.

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challenging dark funny sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I really really really struggled with this book.
I had to switch to audio after getting to 100 pages in a month and considered DNFing.
The treatment of women is atrocious (you see, I can tolerate sexual violence in fiction, but not when it's treated as a joke) I (at best) cringed so hard whenever a female character entered the scene).
But the ending did save the book for me
And I get why it is a classics now

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dark funny reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I feel like this is one of this books that either you love or you hate. 

The writing style is witty and humorous,  the narrative a bit difficult to follow at times because it isn’t told chronologically and occasionally digresses, but it’s absolutely worth it.  

And not to drag on Richard Hooker again, but he wishes he could write like Joseph Heller.

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dark mysterious reflective 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: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I couldn’t figure out a way to possibly rate this in stars. I loved this book, but I don’t know if I particularly liked it. I’m very glad I read it, but I don’t know if I could read it again. It’s an unbelievably well crafted book but I couldn’t fully see that until I was nearly 3/4 of the way through. I’ll think about the last quarter or so of this book for a long, long time. 

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challenging dark funny reflective slow-paced

A fost o carte destul de greoaie, poate pentru că nu eram neapărat în starea potrivită ca să o citesc sau pentru că nu am trăit experiențe care să mă aducă mai aproape de subiect. Pe alături mi s-a părut o imitație ieftină a lui Kafka, dar alteori stilul lui Heller, înțesat de enumerări adjectivale ca un robinet din care curg ritmic picături, m-a vrăjit și mi s-a părut incredibil de dinamic. În a doua jumătate a cărții au fost cam 100 de pagini care mi s-au părut aproape intolerabile, dar finalul a fost excelent. Pare că o construcție pe alocuri îndoielnică se leagă în cele din urmă ca să ne dea un final care rezumă perfect cartea: sardonic, absurd, deplorabil. 
Parcă aș fi vrut ceva mai multă perseverență de la Heller și pe parcursul cărții - a fost genul de roman pentru care e nevoie de multă, multă răbdare, care este însă, în cele din urmă, răsplătită. 

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