Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

A slapstick comedy about bumbling commanding officers, Yossarian’s desire to live and Milo’s attempts to profit from the war via M&M Enterprises.


The slaptstick is broken up by the recurring memory of the death of Snowden. All Yossarian can do to help him is say ‘There There” as the morphine has been taken by M&M Enterprises and all he is left with is Aspirin.

Mission limits are constantly being raised, morale is low as when they are close to going home the missions are raised again.

Yossarian relies on a fake pain in his liver to go to hospital and hopefully be sent home. “There was a much lower death rate inside the hospital than outside the hospital and a much healthier death rate”.

The language works today, not outmoded. It was reviewed as being shouted on to the page and being repetitive but I see this as adding to the slaptstick. It’s wacky but dark.

I wonder what real life experiences influenced this book? There were some good characterizations of bad management/command.

Highlights were: The forms letters – sent out complete, not edited to suit!

Inflation devices in the Mae Wests gone as they were used in Milo’s mess hall for soda streams!

Nately’s whore is reminiscent of the Pink Panther’s Cato.

There are Catch 22’s or paradoxes throughout the whole novel. The story told from various view points ie The injury to Major De Coverley’s eye, is later told by the old man in the brothel who had thrown the rose which injured the Colonel’s eye.

It is very clever. I loved it, it will be in my top 10 favourites.