Catch 22
by Joseph Heller
The most wonderful novel ever written, because of its absurdist sense of humour and the way it looked at war
Recommendations from our site
“This is the great war book of the twentieth century. It’s laugh-out-loud funny. He’s talking about the Second World War, which is thought of as the good war. He picks up on an aspect of war which has gone on since Homer. You have an overarching war strategy which might make sense, but, for the individual, the things they’re asked to do can seem absolutely ludicrous — in this case to fly death-defying, practically suicidal missions. It’s completely illogical, being in the war zone. He captures that brilliantly: through repetition, through completely farcical situations and through extremely harrowing moments as well…..It gets you to the point where you can’t apply your reason any more and laughter takes over. It’s the laughter of the absurd.” Read more...
Kate McLoughlin, Literary Scholar
“It’s one of the funniest books ever written. It’s about the insanity of military life and the absurdity of a big institution. Heller was very good on the absurdity of big institutions. Catch 22 has every character in it that the American military did have at the time and still has today in Iraq and Afghanistan: The money-makers, the crooks, the officers who were trying to claw their way to the top where they get their men killed, the placing in order of priority the pretence of military success at the cost of many civilian lives.” Read more...
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Charles Glass, Journalist
“Normally you read it in high school, but I read it right out of college – it completely changed my view on comedy. It is an intense dark satirical book but at the same time hilarious. It made me think: If I could do something so funny about such dark topics in such a way that it makes people think, that would be a huge accomplishment. It’s probably the book that has had the biggest impact on my comedy.” Read more...
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Lee Camp, Comedians & Humorist
“The most wonderful novel ever written, because of its absurdist sense of humour and the way it looked at war.” Read more...
William Boyd on Writers Who Inspired Him
William Boyd, Novelist
