Catch-22

I’m rereading my favorite book, Catch-22. I thought about picking up something new from the bookstore, but ultimately decided to pull one off the shelf. I haven’t read it in the 2020s, I don’t think, which is a shame. I should probably read it every other year, at the least. Joseph Heller wrote a masterpiece in 1961 that far predated the cynicism about military and conflict that became a built-in reaction during the Vietnam War. And the absurdity of the characters, scenes, and stories, was laid down in print almost a decade before Richard Hooker’s MASH, which in at least one published version included a blurb directly on the front cover comparing it to Catch-22. Heller’s book expertly weaves scenes and characters in a jumble of time and circumstance. For instance, early in the book Yossarian asks the question, “Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?” The next paragraph relates Snowden’s death, which isn’t described until much later in the narrative, and mentions characters involved in the incident who haven’t even been introduced into the story yet. The early mention of Snowden captures a scene out of sequence, but it works. The chapter titled “The Soldier Who Saw Everything Twice” is a masterclass in humor and makes me laugh constantly anytime I read it. Characters duck in and out of the story, a chaos that matches the setting. Catch-22 is a much-studied book and I’m not going into the deeper meaning of it all. You’ll have to discover that for yourself. The book is hysterical, irreverent, absurd, sad, and more than earns another read from me.