My experience with Catch-22 was really odd. This is exactly the kind of book I like. It was bizarre, funny, quirky and morbid. Therefore, I can’t exactly pinpoint the reason that it took me a month to read. I think it was because I don’t have a good understanding of the military and its idiosyncrasies. Do generals rank higher then corporals? What’s a lieutenant? What’s the food like normally? Was it common during WWII to visit whores in Rome regularly?
Basically, I was unable to make a real connection to any of the characters and therefore didn’t become enthralled by the story. Having said that, it was very enjoyable. One tip—the entire book is character development. There are a lot of characters, so try to stop wishing for the character development portion of the book to end.
The style of humor in the book reminded me very much of the old “who’s on first” routine with the characters confusing each other, whether intentionally or because of insanity, it is not particularly clear. It is rumored that the TV show M*A*S*H was based at least loosely on this book and I can definitely see the similarities.
If this book were a movie, I’d rate it: R for violence, sexual references, and language (I think—I forget to notice it).
Overall Grade: C
Would I recommend this book to my friends? Yes
