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Catch-22

Author: Joseph Heller
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

123 reviews
Sales Rank: 204

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5 x 1.4

ISBN: 0099477319
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780099477310
ASIN: 0099477319

Publication Date: October 6, 1994
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days

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Customer Reviews: Read 118 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

One of three June 24, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Believe it or not, my parents recommended this book to me. All I can say is, for once they were right. I've only read two other books that so blew me away in their conception and execution and those were "Clockwork Orange" and "Katzenjammer" by McCrae. But even those can't compare to "Catch 22. What a wild ride this well crafted book is. To say it's thought-provoking is a cliche, but there it is. Sort of like "1984" probably was before 1984. Some have likened this to MASH and the Korean war, and I can see those similarities, but the book is really meant to be read on a much broader level; a level of humanity in general and not one specific event or time period. The book is funny and challenging, but that seems to me to be what one would be looking for in a great novel. There's reason this book has been around for eons--it's simply a great novel that holds up to the test of time.

5 out of 5 stars

Precursor of MASH and more May 20, 2008
This is the original (at least in terms of modern relevance) satire of modern warfare and decision making. However, it achieves a level of humour very rarely achieved elsewhere. It is a very personal book, and some of the personal touch, sidesplitting jokes, and very dark serious undercurrent make this resonate more with me than some of the other great "political / moral" satires - Animal Farm and 1984 after all can leave you feeling somewhat cold.

5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant March 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Im amazed at some of the criticism here, to be honest. The books is brilliant, funny, and extremely clever. Todays 'absurd humour' seems to consist of saying random words accompanied with random adjectives at random times, completely wittless, this book oozes wit on every page. This humour doesnt feel dated at all and i am 24. As for those saying 'war is not funny', i think you are massively missing the point. The book is long and i think the first half of the book is more engaging, but overall, one of the best books i have read. As for people saying the humour is adolescent, would you really give this to kids and think they would enjoy it?

A superb book deserving of its reputation, and a shame for those that havent enjoyed it here.

And i agree, funnier than Catcher in The Rye.

5 out of 5 stars

The best book for a holiday March 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I can't think of a better book to take with you on a holiday. I find incredible that some people considered Catch-22 rather monotonous. It's anything but. The book structure is arranged by characters which means the story never gets boring or monotonous. I can't help laughing every time I think of Milo Minderbinder, he is definitely my favourite. The fact that the 500+ pages of this book are arranged in more than 40 chapters also helps a great deal in getting you through the story, as you can always take a breath between chapters before moving on. I've been reading both A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby and Yes Man by Danny Wallace since I've finished with this one and they look just like silly comedy books for teenagers compared to this masterpiece by Joseph Heller.

5 out of 5 stars

You've gotta love it. January 20, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I picked this up as a discarded book at my place of work and, having nothing to read, took another look at it after thirty years or so. What a lovely surprise - it's just as good as it was the first time round, perhaps, given the present state of affairs in the world, even better. It tells the story of Yossarian, "Yo-Yo" to his friends, who simply doesn't want to die fighting for something he has no direct interest in. It is both a savage indictment of international big-business and of war, while, at the same time, it presents the reader with a splendid, if somewhat surrealistic, view of human psychology.

Funny and depressing at the same time, it is still a must-read for anyone who has been given the gift of conscious thought in the last 100 years.