Catch-22 is a hilarious satire set in wartime. The main character, Yossarian, is a bombardier who is terrified he’ll be killed every time he goes out on a mission. Everyone thinks he’s insane, but he is arguably the most sane character in this book. All he sees is the futility of war. Surprisingly, he does not approve of people in high places gambling with his life.
Heller’s style here is very unique; I haven’t read anything like it before. The flow of the story is also interesting. He makes some repetitions throughout the book, and events are not in chronological order. When I first read it, though I thoroughly enjoyed his sense of humor, it felt like everything in it occurred randomly. After having read it two or three times, I noticed a pattern that wasn’t obvious (at least to me) at first. I visualize it as a woven spiral/circle, with individual “threads” that come up and disappear and then reappear again. He picks up a thread, advances it a little, picks up another and another, and then the first thread comes up again and gets developed some more.
Everyone is different; if you get dizzy easily or get frustrated trying to keep track of different “threads”, then perhaps you should pass this one up. If you can take it easy and just enjoy a good ride, I recommend you go for it! This is one of the funniest and yet most depressing books I’ve ever read. It's definitely one of my favorites.
