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anjalirenee's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of the only times I've found a book to be laugh-out-loud funny. Yossarian is so iconic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Death
lastonedown's review
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs, Misogyny, Suicide, Rape, and War
Minor: Medical content and Murder
yeah_sure's review
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
whoischels's review
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understanding of how distant future and past are until you've reached the end and various characters have died off and been replaced by new, untrauma-ed characters.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
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
seanml's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
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? Yes
3.25
Reading anything called a ‘classic’ is a gamble; you don’t have to go too far back for them to be super problematic. In this instance, Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 ended up being a mixed bag. It’s a comedy novel that takes place during World War II, and was written in the 1960s. It is very much a product of its time. The book is “clever,” but clever in the way that a high school freshman would ask you “Is water wet?” and then once you answer they’re prepared to argue the complete opposite point in order to confuse you. In Catch-22 the military is basically run by the Marx Brothers: misunderstandings are frequent, and nothing is safe from being a gag to the point of death. Each chapter is in a way a skit focusing on a soldier or a commander, one of the handful that the book revolves around. They range from entertaining to infuriating. Luckily our protagonist is a soldier named Yossarian who happens to be the only sensical character throughout the entire thing. So as I went crazy from the never-ending chapters, Yossarian was right there with me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t relate to him in the chapter when he sexually assaults a nurse out of the blue. Yeah, this is the 1960s and every female character has at least one line about the shape of their breasts. This does not in any way pass the Bechdel test. In any case, the book does a good job at portraying the mania-fueled spiral of someone told to die for the good of their country again and again and again. Did I misunderstand most of it? Maybe. Should I read it again? Maybe, it depends on if it was good. Was it good? I’d have to read it again. Catch-22. 6.5/10.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Murder, Racism, Vomit, War, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture
Minor: Cannibalism
elmewhy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
~~2.5 Stars~~ 11th September 2022
*rounded to 3 stars
I think it’s fair to say that this review is a modern Gen Z take on a classic that was not written for me or for people of my time. This book was just not for me. While I appreciate that this book was written at a different time, I couldn’t forgive some parts of it. I decided to split my review into a pro and con list.
Pro
It’s a classic for a reason. The origins and concept of the term ‘Catch 22’ is genius. After researching this book, I can see why it was so popular, especially with young people during the Vietnam War.
War Representation. I did appreciate the insanity of war portrayal and the desperateness this led to. I’ve not seen a lot of portrayals of this in classic or modern media, and it was an interesting take to see.
Format. Polarising, but I enjoyed the format. It is disjointed with sporadic short stories mentioned, which are revealed later in the book, the re-read ability is huge, and you can reread parts with a brand new understanding. There are many characters, but this format taught me whos who much more quickly. Although not comparable, I did get a Grand Budapest Hotel vibe from the format/humour/visualisation.
Con
Misogyny. There’s a lot of this; in fact, I don’t believe a female character is mentioned in a way that wasn’t sexual or perverse or made them out to be less than deranged. Here are some examples:
One character is named “Nately’s Whore”, who is a prop prostitute for a character until they get mentioned more and becomes a psycho stalker killer. Lots of inappropriate touching, mostly sexual assault and the women don’t always seem to care?! Mentions of underage women (as young as 12) and virgins are sexualised - although we never see this, it is idolised heavy. **Trigger!** A very heartless and glossed-over mention of a rape where the female dies from it and gets thrown out of a window, with no consequence even though the police turn up, but they chose to focus on other topics rather than the raped and murdered women lying in the street.
Racism. N-word usage - only really in the beginning. Again, something which is more prominent in older books as it was the norm during this time but does not hold up in the modern day.
Humour. I just did not get the humour, there were parts in which I thought ohh I get why people think it's funny, but I definitely wouldn’t call this hilarious. The humour was repetitive (the same word play humour beat to death), the context was just not funny, and, for me, the misogynistic, classism and racist overtones overshadowed the book for it to be funny.
If you’re a fan of adult-level pantomime jokes, you’ll be fine.
Ultimately, while you get to say you’ve read this notorious classical book and boast to all your friends that you’re smart and read more than YA/fantasy/preferred genre, you actually have to put yourself through it - so how’s that for a Catch 22?
*rounded to 3 stars
I think it’s fair to say that this review is a modern Gen Z take on a classic that was not written for me or for people of my time. This book was just not for me. While I appreciate that this book was written at a different time, I couldn’t forgive some parts of it. I decided to split my review into a pro and con list.
Pro
It’s a classic for a reason. The origins and concept of the term ‘Catch 22’ is genius. After researching this book, I can see why it was so popular, especially with young people during the Vietnam War.
War Representation. I did appreciate the insanity of war portrayal and the desperateness this led to. I’ve not seen a lot of portrayals of this in classic or modern media, and it was an interesting take to see.
Format. Polarising, but I enjoyed the format. It is disjointed with sporadic short stories mentioned, which are revealed later in the book, the re-read ability is huge, and you can reread parts with a brand new understanding. There are many characters, but this format taught me whos who much more quickly. Although not comparable, I did get a Grand Budapest Hotel vibe from the format/humour/visualisation.
Con
Misogyny. There’s a lot of this; in fact, I don’t believe a female character is mentioned in a way that wasn’t sexual or perverse or made them out to be less than deranged. Here are some examples:
One character is named “Nately’s Whore”, who is a prop prostitute for a character until they get mentioned more and becomes a psycho stalker killer. Lots of inappropriate touching, mostly sexual assault and the women don’t always seem to care?! Mentions of underage women (as young as 12) and virgins are sexualised - although we never see this, it is idolised heavy. **Trigger!** A very heartless and glossed-over mention of a rape where the female dies from it and gets thrown out of a window, with no consequence even though the police turn up, but they chose to focus on other topics rather than the raped and murdered women lying in the street.
Racism. N-word usage - only really in the beginning. Again, something which is more prominent in older books as it was the norm during this time but does not hold up in the modern day.
Humour. I just did not get the humour, there were parts in which I thought ohh I get why people think it's funny, but I definitely wouldn’t call this hilarious. The humour was repetitive (the same word play humour beat to death), the context was just not funny, and, for me, the misogynistic, classism and racist overtones overshadowed the book for it to be funny.
If you’re a fan of adult-level pantomime jokes, you’ll be fine.
Ultimately, while you get to say you’ve read this notorious classical book and boast to all your friends that you’re smart and read more than YA/fantasy/preferred genre, you actually have to put yourself through it - so how’s that for a Catch 22?
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Racial slurs, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
annie_reads_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Gore, Misogyny, and Rape
cgreg's review
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual assault
bekahhinson's review
3.0
Oh my god this book would be like 4.5 stars if it wasn’t so fucking disgusting towards women. Why the hell was it necessary to include SO MANY scenes of the men groping women in public sexually assaulting/raping them? Not to mention there’s no justice, no return to that narrative to assert that those types of actions are wrong, and all of them do it so it’s not like you can claim an unreliable narrator situation. Additionally I don’t care if it’s not the authors true opinion on the matter because it happened so much that is felt like he was writing it because he doesn’t think it’s wrong. Fuck you joseph heller. Next time you write a good book simply exclude women if you can’t resist writing in an SA scene.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape and Gaslighting