Caught in a Joseph Heller Catch-22

Experts often hail Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, as one of the preeminent anti-war novels of the twentieth century. While I will concede the fact that Heller has great command of the language, I have to admit that I have never been able to finish this book.

Catch-22 is easily the most satirical black comedy to emerge from post-war America; however, every time I attempted to read Heller's masterpiece (four attempts) I found myself feeling as if the author was continuously putting different characters in similar situations. Perhaps this was Heller's intention. One could surmise that Joseph Heller was trying to convey the war's sense of senselessness. He may have been speaking to the futility of war and the underlying motivations of battle-time courage. Whatever Heller's intentions, I missed the boat.

This novel always started as hilariously funny, insanely provocative, and full of cheeky sarcasm. Ultimately, however, the feeling of the mundane would set in. I would be reading a scene and instantly know the plot. It was as if each character had to follow a given checklist of to-do items. Step 1) Rail against superiors via backwards regulations, Step 2) Whine about the mundane life while having limitless freedom of movement, Step 3) Dodge death in a stark In-Your-Face battle…Rinse, Repeat. Granted, most of the scenes were full of humor, but it was never enough to hold my attention through the entire novel. This aspect always bothered me. I posited that I must have not been giving the novel proper attention. I tried a second read…, a third…, and a fourth. Each time I made it further, but alas…no ending. This brings up a main point of reoccurrence. If a novel does not hold my attention, it must not be good FOR ME. This is not to say another reader will dislike it. On the contrary, most other readers adore this novel; however, I cannot recommend Catch-22 to anyone.

--Lance Rulau

Catch-22, Joseph Heller

Rating: (3) Not Good