Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

51 reviews

khalileymon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

seph5040's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, and Violence

klenda_vee's review against another edition

Extremely funny social commentary about the military, but I couldn’t sit through 20 hours of sex jokes; definitely just a personal preference, but the last three hours of the six I listened through (audiobook) all blurred together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cursing, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Bullying and Alcohol

The book is satire, and the tagged subjects in this book are there as satirical commentary on these subjects

ronanmcd's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Ok, first off, this book is hugely problematic in its depictions of women. They are there for relief and using. They aren't allowed feelings of expression.
Aarfy's coerced rape back home, then rape/murder in Rome, and Yossarian's sexual assaults on Nurse Duckett maybe date the book, or were maybe always shocking. These are not comic actions by sympathetic heroes, as they seem to be presented, with the exception of the violence in Rome which is intended to shock.
Apart from that, and it took some doing to read the book with those concerns aside, the book is spot on with its lampooning of war and business. Ostensibly about the military complex in WW2, it hits much harder when read in the post WW2 era of globalised commerce, undeclared wars and covert operations, and the relentless and unquestioning pursuit of prosperity. Anything is ok, as long as you are in the clique and making profit.
Milo Minderbender is the perfect character. Anything is allowed, even treasonous acts, as he pursues personal gain, painting his profit as beneficial for all. It doesn't take a genius to see this in our world of billionaires, voters fooled in voting against their best interests, and politicians aided to the top by foreign enemies. The creation of his character may seem prescient, but it's more likely these things were always there, but just not as exaggerated as now.
Likewise the military police disappearing people, questioning them on unknown charges, finding the evidence tells the opposite of the truth, and ruling they are right anyway because they say they are. In a world that has seen Guantanamo, this no longer feels like satire.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, War, and Sexual violence

littlefish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

It took me about 100 pages of being confused before I got properly into this but very much worth it in the end. Great study on pointless bureaucracy and power-seeking rich guys, it really made me angry at points!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Sexual content, and Death

Moderate: Sexual violence

lynxalot26's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Addiction, Sexual assault, Death, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Rape

imaginefishes's review against another edition

dark emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Was difficult to read at times because of the repetitions between chapters and non-consecutive storylines, but it had its funny and ironic moments which make you consider if the structures which hold us down (even in civil society) exist at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and War

Moderate: Body horror, Alcohol, Grief, Death, Blood, Stalking, and Suicide

Minor: Rape, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Murder, and Violence

madzie's review against another edition

dark funny sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Death, War, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Grief

jujubeans's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

Ok imagine the speed and subject of the plot like this: completely straight and consistent line for about the first 85%, then a quick drop in tone and weirdly enough, style, then a crazy steep climb at the very end.  It is incredibly crass, vulgar, violent, gory, confusing, and humorous in the way “Who’s on first“ would be humorous if the characters were depressed, lonely, terrified, and traumatized to a great extent. 

I don’t know how I feel about it to be honest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, War, Alcohol, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, and Vomit

This is not a book for light reading. It will disgust you and horrify you. The sexual violence was most disturbing to me. I’m gonna say that again for good measure: repeated, horrifying, insane degrees of sexual violence all throughout the book.

beeping_librarian's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and War

Moderate: Misogyny and Violence

Minor: Rape