Product reviews

I studied this at sixth form and loved the book. It was difficult to get into to begin with as the story is told out of sequence and it is only over time that the reader is able to piece together a rough time line and things begin to make sense.

The book was written to highlight the impact that bureaucratic actions and thinking can have on the individual. It is cleverly written, with humour that had me laughing out loud at times but also provoked some deep sympathy for the characters who were unable to escape their awful situation because of the "catch 22" rules, set in place by the army, that made it impossible for them to do so:

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle."

It may take the reader a little time for things to start to come together but it is well worth the effort, and will leave you impressed with what a masterpiece Heller has written. Highly recommended for the deep thinking reader.