Book Bearings
Catch-22
- 463 pages · about 8 hours
- First published 1961
- 134 editions
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1 About this book
Captain John Yossarian is a bombardier in an American squadron based on a small island off Italy during the Second World War, and his one aim is to stay alive. Every time he nears the number of missions that would send him home, his colonel raises it. He could be grounded if he were insane, but asking to be grounded proves that he is sane: that is Catch-22. Around him the squadron is run by officers who care more for promotion than for their men, and by rules that defeat anyone who tries to use them. Joseph Heller's satirical novel was published in 1961, and its title has passed into the language.
- Satire
- Historical fiction
- Psychology
- War stories
- Drama
- World War II
- American Aerial operations
- War & military
2 What to expect
A satirical war novel about an American bomber squadron in Italy, where a bombardier tries to survive his own commanders as much as the enemy. It is told out of order, circling back to the same events with new details, and its comedy runs on paradox, repetition and absurd logic. It is very funny and then, increasingly, horrifying, and the scrambled timeline and large cast make the early chapters confusing.
Good for readers who want: dark satire, the absurdity of war and bureaucracy, and a brilliantly looping story.
3 About Joseph Heller
Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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