<![CDATA[Catch-22]]>

false <![CDATA[Catch-22]]>

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There was a time when reading Joseph Heller's classic satire on the murderous insanity of war was nothing less than a rite of passage. Echoes of Yossarian, the wise-ass bombardier who was too smart to die but not smart enough to find a way out of his predicament, could be heard throughout the counterculture. As a result, it's impossible not to consider Catch-22 to be something of a period piece. But 40 years on, the novel's undiminished strength is its looking-glass logic. Again and again, Heller's characters demonstrate that what is commonly held to be good, is bad; what is sensible, is nonsense. Yossarian says, "You're talking about winning the war, and I am talking about winning the war and keeping alive." "Exactly," Clevinger snapped smugly. "And which do you think is more important?" "To whom?" Yossarian shot back. "It doesn't make a damn bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead." "I can't think of another attitude that could be depended upon to give greater comfort to the enemy." "The enemy," retorted Yossarian with weighted precision, "is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on." Mirabile dictu, the book holds up post-Reagan, post-Gulf War. It's a good thing, too. As long as there's a military, that engine of lethal authority, Catch-22 will shine as a handbook for smart-alecky pacifists. It's an utterly serious and sad, but damn funny book.

814330

book

1955

Catch-22

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5 14 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 14 04:13:23 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 09 14:18:59 -0700 2009 2 so tempted to dock a star from my rating. Even though I was reading it for the second time, even though I knew that the second half was brilliant and amazing and fabulous, dragging myself through the oppressive wit of the first half was so superlatively difficult that...more...]]> 1 15 false false Tue Sep 11 11:53:33 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 13 08:06:49 -0700 2007
The author narrates and introduces up to Yossarian, who does not want to fly in the war. I get that. I get the whole catch 22 senerio... You have to be insane to fly the plane. If you ...more...]]> 0 21 false false Mon May 21 07:40:53 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 23 05:11:48 -0700 2009
Currently it sits on my bookshelf and sometimes (whe...more...]]> 5 18 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 20 18:10:10 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 15 21:11:42 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 8 false true Fri May 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 21:39:10 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 21:41:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 8 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 05 01:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 21:25:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 7 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 11:26:32 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 17 14:27:11 -0700 2008
Seriously, I know there were points to make about the repetitive ridiculousness of bureaucracy/war/capitalism/life, but over 450 pages of variations on the Catch-22 joke?

I did find myself more affected than I would have guessed by...more...]]> 3 8 false false Tue Jul 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 06 14:54:14 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 13:34:59 -0700 2008
Jen: I didn't like this book.
Nigel: Why didn't you like the book?
Jen: I did like the book.
Nigel: You just said you didn't like the book.
Jen: No I didn't.
Nigel: You're lying.
...more...]]> 3 6 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sun Oct 28 11:56:18 -0700 2007 Mon Jan 05 00:38:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 7 false false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sun Aug 12 17:34:21 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 12 17:34:54 -0700 2007
I really appreciate i...more...]]> 3 3 false false Mon Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 13 11:55:25 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 21 09:37:12 -0700 2009 Catch-22...a book so influential that even it's title has been engraved in our lexicon. I just had to read it!

Welcome to Heller's version of World War II...
Yossarian, a B-25 bombardier flying missions out of a very unusual base in Italy, wants the doctor to ground him for insanity....more...]]> 1 4 true false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 13 12:46:54 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 13 13:00:56 -0700 2007
I never felt for any of the characters, I never laughed, I nev...more...]]> 5 4 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1970 Mon Apr 20 18:41:48 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 08:47:24 -0700 2009 The Cat from Hue: A Vietnam War Story that I'm currently reading reminded me of it. Lawrence is on leave in Hong Kong from covering the Vietnam War and he revels in the clean sheets, three meals a day, showers, and no shelling. He has nothing in his room bu...more...]]> 4 4 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 07:40:27 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 07:35:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Sat May 26 03:08:35 -0700 2007 Sat May 26 03:43:35 -0700 2007 black comedy which gives you an insight into what people do when faced with imminent danger/death. All the characters are unique in their own ways and yet you can relate to them in some way or the other. M...more...]]> 1 2 false false Mon Sep 17 09:36:08 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 10:07:48 -0700 2007
Clearly I'm in the minority here, so the problem may well lie with me. I grew up watching MASH; I saw Stripes and Sgt Benjamin in the theatres. National Lampoon and John Hughes gave me my childhood heroes.

Yossarian just comes across as a stuck-up w...more...]]> 2 2 false false Thu Jun 19 13:31:23 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 19 13:47:54 -0700 2008 Journey to the End of the Night (Celine).

Still it is really funny. But most American young people have the same experience of this No...more...]]> 5 4 false false Tue Dec 18 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Mar 26 17:07:38 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 26 17:07:38 -0700 2008 2 1 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 20:39:12 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 20:42:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 4 false false Sat Dec 13 17:29:59 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 18:26:10 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4609