Book Report: Catch-22

Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. New York. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks: 1955.

Due to the common reccomendations, and the high expectations of this book, I decided to finally read it. This book is a comedic-fiction novel taking place during World War II on the island of Pianosa, which is near the coast of Italy.

The main plot of this book revolvs around the main character, Yossarian, a young pilot in the military who's only goal in the war is to go home. Naturally, the notion of his desires seem to be selfish and generic, but the book unfolds to show that the military, and everything else in life, is bound to a paradoxical logic that holds reality together like a skeleton does to a body. Constantly, Heller uses great contradictory view points by characters and counter-intuitive logic to show that life, although unfair, must be lived. Unlike many books of this nature, this novel controlls the flow of the story by using contradicting tones of serious travesties and laughable idealogies.

Milo is possibly the best character, and the greatest metaphoric person in this book. Yossarian meets Milo when he becomes the leader of an idea known as the syndacite, in which "everybody owns a share." The boy is ingenious: he utilizes his smarts to control the flow of food items and is able to make a profit, even when he sells items for two cents less then he bought it. Heller spends much of the book explaining the reasoning behind Milo's actions. Some things he does are just explainable nonetheless, including Milo's major feat of making a deal on side of the war with the Americans to know where the Germans are going to be, and making a deal on the other side of the war with the Germans about the American's knowing their strategy. His actions are rash and insane, such as bombing his own squadron, yet his presence is completely neccessary for the book. Milo, though, is not a real person. Milo represents all that is the corperation aspect of war: a power hungry struggle to utilize conflict to make a profit, that seems potentially harmless and is, in the ensuing results, one of the most harmful things in battle. Another parrallel aspect of Milo and the corperation is the lack of change Milo experiences. He is constantly coaxed out of fighting and is unaffected by the conflict around him.

I thought that this was one of the greatest books I've ever read. A slow start nonwithstanding, the book was a page turner. I felt attracted to the woman Yossarian was attracted to, humiliated for his defeats and equally saddened by Snowden's state at the end of the book. I thought that Heller's lack of chronological order was essential in the power of this book. The book was geared toward the inhumanity of war and its atrociouties. The book addresses taboo subjects that yank at the heart's strings and works for the recognition of how horrible war actually is.

Firstly, I will never join the army because of this book, but it is imperative that I realize what one goes through in the army. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good book with a clear message. The book had enough leeway for interpretation, but is not so open as to fall apart conceptually. This book constantly reminded me of the conflict in Iraq. Is there a Yossarian in Iraq? Is Milo prompting terrorists to attack us?

I understand the main character's angst. He lusts to go home for the same reason that I yearn that our troops can come back. War is a traumatizing experience that should be experienced by others, and I felt everything Yossarian did was justified. I think that this book ended exactly how it should have ended and contained one of the most satisfying endings I've read in a book.

I have not previously read a book by Joseph Heller, but the book was similiar in form and substance to Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughter House V. The two books are great, but Catch-22 gets the upper hand due to more comedic moments and agreeable contradictions. I hope to read more of Heller's work, as I've heard that there are books of his that have even more humor in it. The only thing I haven't elaborated on is that this book is vulgar like no other. From swearing to characters reaching up nurses' dresses to constant sexual interaction, this book delivers vulgarity in the way its meant to be delivered.