CATCH-22

by Joseph Heller
 
Considering the list of “books I should have read, but somehow never did,” Catch-22 was at the top.  Had it not been for my son and his self-generated challenge to read some of the books he had never read, I may never have tackled this one.  Oh!  And then Hulu recently produced Catch-22 as a six-part series starring George Clooney, which further incentivized me to read the book.
 
I can’t honestly say Catch-22 was either an easy read or a totally enjoyable one. But it was fascinating trying to understand the context of the times in which it was first published – 1961.  This book created a huge uproar because it made fun of the bureaucratic nonsense of the military – and it was one of the first to do that.  Then came the United States’ involvement in Viet Nam and the 1960s and the “question authority” movement and Catch-22 seemed prescient, not outrageous.
 
Catch-22 has reached iconic status since 1961 and much has been written about Heller and what he had tried to accomplish in the book.  Happily, the edition I read included multiple reviews of the book – from when it was first published and on landmark anniversaries since then.  I found these fascinating especially since they gave me context for the book.  If you feel like I did and wish you’d read Catch-22, you’ll be rewarded for investing the time in it. (Liz)