A very good description of Catch-22 and an excellent explanation of how and why it works. I read this book in my early twenties and it blew me away. I recently re-watched the movie M*A*S*H and was reminded of Catch-22. Both try to convey the insanity of war through humour. It seems like if you made something so scathingly anti-military today it might not go well for you.
Terrific review of one of "those" novels that everyone reads (or says they've read) and no one really understands (like Catcher in the Rye). Joel's mind and breadth is stunning, and a great treat in the inbox weekly!
I first read Catch-22 in 1970 as a "hippie" and in the framework of the Vietnam War, my Dad being a Navy man, and me wrestling with registering for the draft as a conscientious objector. It is still the funniest and most searing critiques of modern nihilsm and the absurdity of what has become a prophetic look at our current culture's solipsistic relativism. I read (if I recall correctly) it was turned down over 200 times by publishers, so yes, it wasn't/isn't for everyone, but there is nothing else like it.
A very good description of Catch-22 and an excellent explanation of how and why it works. I read this book in my early twenties and it blew me away. I recently re-watched the movie M*A*S*H and was reminded of Catch-22. Both try to convey the insanity of war through humour. It seems like if you made something so scathingly anti-military today it might not go well for you.
Have you ever done an entry devoted to satire writings of Christians?
Terrific review of one of "those" novels that everyone reads (or says they've read) and no one really understands (like Catcher in the Rye). Joel's mind and breadth is stunning, and a great treat in the inbox weekly!
I first read Catch-22 in 1970 as a "hippie" and in the framework of the Vietnam War, my Dad being a Navy man, and me wrestling with registering for the draft as a conscientious objector. It is still the funniest and most searing critiques of modern nihilsm and the absurdity of what has become a prophetic look at our current culture's solipsistic relativism. I read (if I recall correctly) it was turned down over 200 times by publishers, so yes, it wasn't/isn't for everyone, but there is nothing else like it.
This is an excellent essay. What a great novel!