Catch-22 discussion

I'm an avid reader, and not shy of trickier reads, but I just cannot seem to get past the first two chapters of this book. I've tried twice now, and each time I'm left feeling either bored, confused or just indifferent.

I know Catch-22 is a highly esteemed book, but I don't want to read it just for this reason - I want to enjoy it!

Does it get better? Is there something wrong with me? Is it worth pushing through to get to a more riveting storyline?

Help!

I guess it's all been said before Catch 22 being such an iconic book. But it was the first time I had read it and like everyone else that has reviewed it, I found it very funny, but also quite of sad, as it really did bring home the futility of war and how the ordinary soldiers were really just used to boost the ego's of the upper echelons. And I could empathise with Yossarien wanting to escape from the people that wanted to kill him, or get him killed I should say!!
It read like a farse in many places and that is indeed what war is in many ways.
Not what I expected but I enjoyed it all the same, and now know that Catch 22 means that you will never ever win!! No matter what you try to do!!
This is what I thought of it Rebecca, but everyones is different. I can't say I would be rushing to read it again, but it was ok.

It is definitely worth sticking with it. First read it when I was younger and didn,t really get it, but after reading it a few times I have to say it's up there with my favourites.

I've also started it two times, the beginnig was very confusing, but now is from my favorites too. I'm plannig to read it at least one more time.

Rebecca wrote: "Does it get better? Is there something wrong with me? Is it worth pushing through to get to a more riveting storyline?"

The answers to your questions: Yes, No, and Depends on your taste in books. IMO, Catch-22 is a superb book, and just perfect for my taste: dark humour and seemingly crazy hijinks rooted in satire of real social and political issues. That may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Also, the non-chronological story and huge cast of characters may be difficult to follow. Unlike what Yossarian feels for the chaplain, this is not a book which one falls in love with at first sight. It’s one that one appreciates mostly at the end.

Thanks for the comments everyone - I am adequately tempted to give it another try! I usually like edgy and darker books, and was very keen on 1984 and others, but maybe I've been too expectant in the first few chapters, and it will grow on me.

It's interesting that it's in quite a few of your 'favourites' list. I do like 'dark humour' and writing around political persuasions, so I will try it again once I've finished my latest Vine.

Would you say that after the confusion of the first chapters, you gain clarity? Or is it the sort of work you need to read a few times to really 'get' it?!

I only read it once, but I found that about halfway (or maybe not quite that far) through the book I "integrated" with the pattern of the writing and the story started making more sense. I ended up enjoying it a lot.

It's hard to get into; the "voice" of the narrator is very different from how most narrators go about the storytelling.

Don't give up. Readjust your mind. Through normal conceptions out the window.

It's definitely funny, wry, frustrating, anti-war, all of what the other posters have said. It's worth it. The first time I read it, I turned back to page 1 (after a day or two to absorb the event of the book itself) and reread it.

You gotta love a book with a character named Major Major Major Major.

The book is a bit long, but very rewarding. Some of the things taking place on the sidelines throughout the book don't seem to make much sense at first, but are then brought brilliantly into the finale.

I urge you to push through. Even if you end up hating it, it's one of those potential "life changing" (in the sense of perspective and ideals) novels.

Push through.

Sheila wrote: "I only read it once, but I found that about halfway (or maybe not quite that far) through the book I "integrated" with the pattern of the writing and the story started making more sense. I ended u..."

I think this encapsulates perfectly how I felt when I read Catch-22. Once it happens though it's totally compelling and brilliantly emotive.

yes, it's a great book, and rightly shows the insanity of war, military, etc. it should be required reading.

Rebecca wrote: "Would you say that after the confusion of the first chapters, you gain clarity? Or is it the sort of work you need to read a few times to really 'get' it?!"
It's more of a work in progress throughout the novel. Almost every new chapter adds a new layer of meaning to what you've learnt before, until you start building up a coherent picture.

I would say that just reading the first 2 chapters isn't giving it much of a chance, but there is also a chance that you'll still hate it after 20 chapters - it seems to be one of the most polarizing books. I'll usually wait till halfway before I give up, and then I've usually invested too much time, so push on, but rarely regret pushing on, at least I get a properly informed opinion. But this is a fat book and requires investing many hours.
It took me long while and a couple of stops and starts to really get into this one, but I just let myself ride the confusion, enjoy the farce (some laugh out loud parts, which is unusual for me), try to keep track of who's who (always a challenge for me but worth it with the great characters in this book) and hope for the best...and for me it paid off, when it all comes together - funny, painful, senseless, real...I loved it

Yes, agreed, Eric - I usually give a book half-way but I just seemed incapable of going further. It took me so long to get the two chapters read, as I was forcing myself that I just couldn't face any more, but I will do it!!

I actually had a similar experience with McEwan's Saturday, which I found to be incredibly descriptive, but with no real plot. After two thirds I was finally engrossed and was glad I'd persevered, but I still feel a lot of the text was unnecessary!

Rebecca wrote: "I'm an avid reader, and not shy of trickier reads, but I just cannot seem to get past the first two chapters of this book. I've tried twice now, and each time I'm left feeling either bored, confuse..."
You cannot keep reading the book,trying to enjoy it and still having second thoughts about doing it at the same time.You should probably not push any further.I think it will ruin everything if you do.I say you leave it until the right time and just go back to reading stuffs that don't bore you or confuse you or make you indifferent.Besides,the book is not going anywhere;it's just the fun moment of reading it you wouldn't wanna miss out.

Catch 22 is one of my very favourite books, and so I would suggest that you give up. If the hilarious and brilliant use of language in the first two chapters hasn't grabbed your attention then this book is obviously not for you. Give up and move on. Life is too short and there are too many books to read.

I think I'll give it one more go, push til halfway. I'm concerned that maybe I've got stuck because I just don't 'get' the 'brilliant' language, and that maybe once I've got through some more I'll begin to understand it more!

I loved the book, but I can easily understand why readers that I highly respect would not like it all. It's a subjective thing. People loved Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS, and I couldn't wait to read it. I didn't much care for it.

CATCH-22 has its own insane internal logic, and that's what makes it work.

True story: when I was in Grade 12 (decades ago) Catch 22 was part of our English class curriculum. It made such an impression, on my impressionable young mind, that when we had to write our mid-term English exam I signed mine, Washington Irving.

The teacher said she had to check off all of the other student's names on the test sheet to find out who's test it was - but she thought it was funny.

For the rest of the year, I signed all of my English tests, reports, etc. either Washington Irving or Irving Washington. It's no wonder the teacher couldn't remember my name at the reunion!

WI

Hell, yes, it is, assuming you are a strong reader, which most Goodreads members seem to be. When I reread it, I realized that I was offended by the reference to a woman as someone's whore, without even giving her a name. This is a minor part of the story and the book was written a very long time ago.

Generally speaking, a book deserves at least 5 chapters. This is one of my favorite 3 novels of all time (the others being in completely different genres). Give it to the end of chapter 5, and see if you don't feel like reading more.

I've had this same question from friends who discover that this book is a favorite of mine. I tend to urge them to keep going, of course, but one thing I always ask is: are you finding the book funny? Do you laugh aloud at certain passages? Part of the point of the book's depiction of the absurdities of war/life is that such scenes are (or would be), at heart, highly comical! If you are half way through this book and aren't laughing much, then you probably won't ever appreciate the book. If you can read the parades/marching competition chapter (just for instance) without laughing, you probably have no sense of humor at all!

"When I reread it, I realized that I was offended by the reference to a woman as someone's whore, without even giving her a name."

I'm fairly certain it was done with a sense of irony.

Will, it is truly bizarre, I'll admit that. She's his "whore", but he's in love with her and she treats him very badly. It's just not a word I'm accustomed to, and the rest of the book is so funny without a lot of obscenity that it startled me. (The first time I read it, I was 19 or 20 and had grown up fairly sheltered). It was when I read it through the second time, I saw the word and remembered, and I thought, "Huh..wonder what was up with that?" But for some folks, say fundamentalist Christians, it could be a deal-breaker.

Nately's whore, I believe it was.

Context is everything.

Remember these are young American soldiers on a Mediterranean island just off the coast of Italy during the mid 1940's. If that is the term they may well have used to refer to a woman who is indeed a prostitute (Nately is more naive than anything else to think he may be in love with her), how could there possibly be any offense intended?

Language in fiction has to ring true, and soldiers use the word "whore".

I think it was the repetition. I don't think that it detracts from the book; I think it jumped out at me because I was young, and in the '70's the word "ho" wasn't thrown around casually as it is today.

From reading all your comments on the book I think I've finally figured out why I didn't like it instantly. It's been a while since I tried to read it (probably more than 3 years), so I can't remember specifics but I think I totally missed any irony, and comicalness (I know - that isn't even a word), and so perhaps after realising that it is actually intended to make me laugh at points, I may stop taking it all so literall,y and misunderstanding it.

I'm willing to put my own experiences of trying the book to rest, and read it with new eyes, and aim for more than 2 chapters (aiming for at least 5).

Thanks everyone for your interesting conversation and perspectives - I hope I enjoy the book as much as your comments!

Rebecca wrote: "From reading all your comments on the book I think I've finally figured out why I didn't like it instantly. It's been a while since I tried to read it (probably more than 3 years), so I can't remem..."

My take is: -
1. One of my favorite books - does not necessarily mean it should be everyone's.
2. Don't like it, leave it and come back some other time, maybe, just maybe a changed perception of things will make you finish it and enjoy it.
3. The story connects better with a people with military background.

Happy Reading.

Yadvendra wrote: "The story connects better with people with a military background."

Some elements of it, perhaps, but you don't have to be in the army to get Heller's message that war is futile.

Heller is also taking a poke a the corporate world, and anyone who has had an incompetent boss (hands up, everybody) can relate to that.

Glenn wrote: "Yadvendra wrote: "The story connects better with people with a military background."

Some elements of it, perhaps, but you don't have to be in the army to get Heller's message that war is futile.
..."

Point taken. I was only suggesting as to why someone may like the book a little more easily.

Yes. Here is what you need to remember about Catch-22.
One, Heller creates an unrealistic world that makes statements about the real world. In other words, this is satire.
Two, much of what they talk about in the beginning of the book is explained later. It is almost Tarantinoist in that he jumps around.
Three, it is a well-crafted story with interesting characters.
Push through. By the time you reach the story of Major Major Major Major you will be hooked.

Reading this thread has made me want to read the book again. Just remembering parts of it makes me laugh.

Rebecca wrote: "From reading all your comments on the book I think I've finally figured out why I didn't like it instantly. It's been a while since I tried to read it (probably more than 3 years), so I can't remem..." I'm glad you're giving it another shot. It did make me laugh out loud in a few places. I think the TV show "MASH" (and movie) were roughly based on this brilliant satire.

It's also possible that what worked well for so many, won't work for you. I taught literature/American Hst & Gov for my entire career, so I felt I should read, and like, all of the classics. Somehow, the Bronte sisters never did work their magic on me; I never finished a single one of their books. Ditto: Little Women (and I tried three times, one of them last summer). So I hope you like it this time, but if you don't, it doesn't make you clueless; it just means everyone's tastes are different.

Rebecca wrote: "From reading all your comments on the book I think I've finally figured out why I didn't like it instantly. It's been a while since I tried to read it (probably more than 3 years), so I can't remem..."

you may as well try to open the book on a random page and start reading. If it catches you from there, then it`s worth starting from the beginning and just bite through the first couple of chapters. If not, then it`s maybe really not your cup of tea, or maybe it`s just not the right time for you to read it. I read it at high school and literally could not leave it until I finished the last page.... and agree with Wendy, reading the whole conversation here makes me want to read the book again. :)

Rebecca wrote: "I'm an avid reader, and not shy of trickier reads, but I just cannot seem to get past the first two chapters of this book. I've tried twice now, and each time I'm left feeling either bored, confuse..."

Rebecca, you asked if it's worth pushing through...
Yes, yes, yes and yes again.

You may not like it, but it'll stay with you for years. Some (an immortal few - is that a subject for a thread?) books transcend convention and can be appreciated even if not enjoyed in the normal way. They enter our everyday language. They influence our lives. This is such a book.

Oh, you can say that again, Sam. The ending of the book was an ah ha for me (at a young age, esp!). It changed my way of looking at life, and maybe made me appreciate it more.

Its definitely worth the timw spent. You won't regret.

Catch-22 is the kind of book that some may find difficult to get through...but only by getting through it may you find that you can enjoy it.

Let me put it another way: concern for plot development is the process of a rational mind. One could be frustrated by the book and ask to be given permission to stop reading it. All one would have to do is ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be frustrated and would have to read more chapters. One would be crazy to read more chapters and sane if he didn't, but if he were sane he had to read them. If he read them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to.

Once you have been moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22, you may let out a respectful whistle.

:)

Norman wrote: "Catch-22 is the kind of book that some may find difficult to get through...but only by getting through it may you find that you can enjoy it.

Let me put it another way: concern for plot develop..."

Well played, sir!

Norman wrote: "Let me put it another way: concern for plot development is the process of a rational mind. One could be frustrated by the book and ask to be given permission to stop reading it. "
And if I may put that another way; the frustration is the authors when the reader won't work a little and absorb the setup chapters in order to fully appreciate the work as a whole.
Granted, the author is not to abuse this indulgence - keep those scene and character builders to a reasonable size - but, like a tour guide, the author knows his territory better than anyone and the reader who is willing to be led will get most out of a book.

Yes!

Like all books I guess it takes a while to get used to its style and cadences

Catch 22 is one of my favourite books - one that I come back to time and time again. I hope you get into it

Please continue reading. The first time I read it I didn't quite "get it". That was the mid-1990s. Since then I have read it about three times, the last time being this summer. It really is a fantastic book in the true meaning of the word.

i know its one of the best books according to people... But personally i didn't find it that amusing...
Just like you, even i found it little hard to carry on (credit goes to the initial chapters). Somehow i did manage to push through and complete it but wasn't that happy with the book....
anyways its always a good to complete a task once you start.

PS: I won't say its bad but ts not excellent as well

Ray, I agree, and I also agree with Glenn. I live in a family of readers, and once in awhile one will pass by while I'm reading and inquire, "Any good?" and unless it is humor (straight-up, like Donald Westlake's Dortmunder series, or Janet Evanovich, or our own Jenny Lawson), I say, "I don't know. I haven't seen the ending yet." So many novels are like that: until you see how the writer is going to bring it all together and tie it up, it's hard to know whether it's good, or in some cases, HOW good it is.

Some people just straight-up hate historical fiction. Maybe this book won't do that for them, if there have been no exceptions and they've tried a number of what are agreed upon by most, and by award-givers, as strong historical fiction work. (I adore historical fiction, and find story is sometimes a good way to chip through resistance to studying history). So, whether or not we like it, those people may never experience the brilliance of Catch-22. But I still regard it as one of the best novels I have ever read.

Paul wrote: "I've had this same question from friends who discover that this book is a favorite of mine. I tend to urge them to keep going, of course, but one thing I always ask is: are you finding the book fun..."
Paul, it's a strong point. If these folks are trying to read it straight, without grasping the satirical nature of the story...or reading it with half-attention, like when you've got one eye on the TV...it won't work for them.

All of this discussion has made me want to go downstairs, find my copy, and re-read it! It's been a long time.

Very pleased that Rebecca has decided to give this book another try. I agree with D. and Paul. Readers need to understand that this is satire. The first time I tried to read it I didn't realise this and didn't finish it. A year later I came back to it, and 'got' it from the outset. Right now I'm sitting here remembering scenes and smiling to myself.
I really hope you enjoy it, Rebecca.

To me, this is just part of Catch 22. The first time I read it it took me years of picking it up, loosing interest and putting it back on the shelf again. Finally, when I did manage to convince myself to read the whole book I absolutely FELL IN LOVE with it! Now Yossarian is one of my favorite characters ever and I've re-read it numerous times. This has happened to a number of people that I've talked to that have read it. Worth getting into it for sure.

I've just joined this website and so glad I did. I've had the same problem. I've started reading this book twice and given up both times. Glad to hear I'm not alone and may be it'll be third time lucky?!