REVIEW: "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

 

SYNOPSIS

    Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

WHAT I LOVE MOST

    Catch-22 is a book that I consider, along with War and Peace, one of my top three favorite books. I can’t think of the third one, but I’ll get there when I remember what it is. Anyway, now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about what I liked about the book.

    This book’s central and recurrent theme is insanity. From the titular rule to the daily interactions, Yossarian finds insanity everywhere. In fact, most of the people he encounters claim the same about him. Insanity is the only attribute one can find in almost every chapter.

    Really, for me, what made this theme special was how the repetition of the comedy reflects this. Everyone has their unique quirk, a comedic insanity, that, as the book progresses, it becomes a sobering horror. This horror is in my opinion omnipresent throughout the novel, yet it is hidden. As the novel progresses these actions slowly build upon each other until they head to their ultimate and logical conclusion.

    The true heart of the novel is the titular catch. Yossarian spends his time after learning of it trying to understand it. Where does it come from? What power does it have? Who is in charge of its implementation? How can he escape? The climax of the novel ultimately exposes to Yossarian the truth to these answers.

    A unique attribute about the book is that it is told nonlinearly. The novel starts in the middle of his quest to escape catch-22, but it proceeds to jump around as it describes characters and events. Yet I feel that the progression of events follow the book thematically, and it can be quite funny seeing the origin of jokes chapters after their introduction.

LOVING CRITICISM

    So, what are the problems with the book? There are a few problems such as repetitive humor, confusing narrative, and a large number of characters.

    The humor in this book, while we move through various scenes, and many of the jokes are quite funny, is very formulaic. I don’t quite think this to be a bad thing necessarily, I simply feel people may get bored, frustrated, or irritated by this.

    The narrative, if one wants to try and sort everything out, is complex, with chapters running before, ahead, or even parallel to others. I feel people may want to organize all these events, but I feel it is easier if one tries to treat each one as separate stories, sharing a continuous theme and setting. It takes a chart to truly get each part down, but really there are enough call backs and set pieces to generally get a feeling when each chapter appears in relation to other events.

    There is a massive amount of characters, some minor, major, and a few that change from one to the other. Most characters though tend to have simplistic characterization, often a prominent trait or quirk, that helps you remember enough about them. Characters often have segments that introduce them though and give you a general understanding of who they are.

MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

    I feel that my favorite character would have to be the protagonist, Yossarian. He originally comes off as a one-note character like everyone else, a lazy and womanizing bombardier who wants out of a war he sees himself as nonfactor, yet he comes out more fully fleshed as we discern the effects of the death of the radio-gunner Snowden on him. Due to nonlinear narrative Snowden is introduced as dead and his death becomes one of the major set pieces of the story, but his death is the climax of the story.

    Yossarian ultimately becomes a man desperately trying to keep his life in the face of insane cohorts, selfish or impotent commanders, and a deadly enemy trying to kill him on every mission he goes on. Ultimately, his character arc is the main meat of the novel.

SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK?

    I feel this book is one of my favorites, so I feel I am a bit biased when I say that you should read it. This book is very comedic and silly, yet at times open and horrifying. The book is pretty long, with most editions running over six-hundred pages. There is also the criticism that I brought up before, so try to see if you would like it.