Read by Theme discussion

I just finished my Blue Cover book, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it.
I found the timeline alluring, and I don't think it would have made as much sense if it was in chronological order. It was really funny, but I found the humour to be repetitive, like it was always the same type of humour, what I'm dubbing to be 'repetitive humour'. Examples:

-"'Will you get back into bed' she said, 'or must I take you by your ear and put you there?'
'Take me by my ear and put me there,' Yossarian dared her.
Nurse Duckett took him by his ear and put him back in bed." (p336)

-"'You really are up the creek, Popinjay. Is Popinjay really your name? Just what the hell kind of a name is Popinjay, anyway? I don't like it.'
'It's Popinjay's name, sir,' Lieutenant Scheisskopf explained." (p90)

-"'And how many missions have you flown?'
'Five.'
'Five?' asked Colonel Cathcart.
'Five, sir.'
'Five, eh?' Colonel Cathcart rubbed his cheek pensively.
'That isn't very good, is it?'" (p424)

Of course those are just three examples, but all the humour is like that. The joke gets old after a while.

Another thing that marked me in this book was the details. There were practically two adjectives minimum per sentence. And most verbs were accompanied by adverbs. There were lots of synonyms to avoid repetition of adjectives, and I can say I learned a lot of new words. Does anyone know what 'exophthalmic' means? I do now :P .

So all in all I really liked the book regardless of the fact that the humour was always the same kind. I was surprised when the plot took a sudden turn for sadness. I was deeply moved, partially because of the very quick transition. The ending was left a bit open, but it was a decent way to end the novel.

Now, I have something to admit: I wasn't sure if I should put this review in the Rogue's section, because my library only had a red covered copy... So I did cheat a little, but only because I could only get my hands on the 50th Anniversary Edition. The cover in GoodReads is blue... That counts, right? :/

Jocelyne wrote: "Now, I have something to admit: I wasn't sure if I should put this review in the Rogue's section, because my library only had a red covered copy... So I did cheat a little, but only because I could only get my hands on the 50th Anniversary Edition. The cover in GoodReads is blue... That counts, right? :/"

As long as at least one edition's cover for your language(s) was blue, as is the case here, it's fine. :)

Jocelyne, thanks for your nice review. I've stopped reading this after about ten chapters (don't remember what draws me away), good to see some details that help renew interest.

Jocelyne wrote: "I could only get my hands on the 50th Anniversary Edition. The cover in GoodReads is blue... That counts, right? "
I think no one really bother what book you've read as long as there is an edition of said book with the blue cover. I understand themes serve as a means to broaden your choice, not to reduce it

I just finished this one as well--my second attempt. I agree, Jocelyne, that there is a lot of repetition. I felt that the middle chapters, each focusing on a different character, were very repetitive of previous mentions in the earlier chapters and didn't really add to the flavor of the book. If Heller was trying to impress upon us the monotony of the bureaucracy he overdid it. I found some things hilarious because of their total absurdity but I did have to put the book down for a while, read something else, and go back to it. There were some really sad scenes--when Yossarian is walking in Rome for example and the death of Kid Sampson, absurd though it was. I'm glad I read it but it's not something I would read twice. Though, I doubt I will ever forget Yossarian or the dead guy in his tent.

This is one of my favourite books!