A review by drewbutler
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

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

4.0

Years later I finally got around to a re-read. It’s still quite funny, but is much sadder and deeper than I remember. This is a book about the military, but it’s also about bureaucracy, morality, fear, violence, religion, alienation and meaning. There’s such a blend of characters here that are often archetypal in the way they act and behave, all while Yossarian tries to understand what to do about it all. Yes, this is an absurd book that derives it’s humor from the ridiculousness of its situations; I think it’s also grappling with the feeling of barreling towards death with a bunch of meaningless, nonsensical tasks in between. There’s a lot of different attitudes you could take if you happened to feel this way, and we see most of them in the various characters in this book.

One very significant mark against this book is how misogynistic it is. Women are not depicted in any kind of honorable or humanizing light, nor are they ever really given even the most cursory of developments beyond their physical appearance. It’s very sad and doesn’t stand the test of time, to say the very least. 

Despite its significant flaws, this is a book with a lot of heart and a lot to say. If you can look past it’s glaring missteps, it’s well worth a read.
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