Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Description

Catch-22’ is a revolutionary book by Joseph Heller which was first published in 1961. This book is a one of its kind. Heller uses a non-chronological third person omniscient narration to bind the threads together. Ideas flow into each other through random connections within the story. Events have been repeated through different point of views. The story is situated in the time of World War 2. This story is about the life of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier in 256th squadron who has been assigned to bomb enemy posts at eastern France and Italy.

The phrase ‘Catch-22’ was later added in English language referring to a type of impossible logic puzzle sometimes called a double bind. According to this story unstable men do not have to fly aircrafts, but the fact that they can rationally decide for themselves and ask for waiver, proves that they are stable enough. Yossarian is the lead character of this story. A man who is afraid of his own commanding officers because he thinks that they want to kill him, by making him work more while all he wants is to escape from the situation. He has seen his friends dying and a lot more destruction. He wants to quit, but he can’t. The story is quite unique in its narration. Many times in this story, jokes are completed through different point of view. This is a satirical novel. If you are looking for a piece of writing that is complex and humorous, pick this one.