“Catch 22” of Joseph Heller is a charming, extremely witty and utterly heartbreaking novel, which will support you in realizing the infinite absurdity of this world. Why do we need satire in literature? Satire in literature puffs and exaggerates human vices to such an extent that they become ridiculous and more obvious.
In this book, the satire is interlaced with the black humor and reflections on the destinies of individuals - with world history. In this case, Heller writes out the plot with a special, simply flawless grace. He uses so bright images and so realistic scenery that the reader is completely immersed in the world of the novel and cannot leave it until the last page is read.
In the center of the plot of this satire is Colonel Yossarian, who dreams only of one thing - that he soon be sent home from an airbase located in the territory of enemy Italy.
Along the way, a lot of tragicomic situations arise. The war does not end and this suits everybody. There are already established their own, insane rules of the game, and aviators, and the local population must comply with them. So the war can never end and it gradually becomes something like an eternal engine.
Stupidity and cruelty are not punishable, justice is drowning in a sea of absurdity, the truth is turned upside down, and honesty is only a hindrance. The author well creates the effect of immersion in the absolutely absurd atmosphere of the novel, where you even manage to forget the time at which the novel goes. Hence, it is worth the reader to relax for funny situations and dialogues, as he is sharply reminded of the ruthlessness of the war.
Heller creates an absurd plot, the individual twists of which turn out to be really ridiculous. However, at the same time, he describes a real tragedy - people who do not understand already what they are fighting for, a bureaucracy that suffocates under its own weight, a death that gradually begins to seem banal and even indecent. “Catch 22” is a very good testament to the fact that war is not defending interests, but a vile and mean thing that, if it does not kill a person, it tramples it. War does not leave a stone on stone, not only from the houses in cities but also from the souls of those who participate in this war.
Heller puts the words together, so they easily take out the soul and break the heart. It is here the humor tells about the despair, sarcasm is told about cruelty, in passing - about death and with laughter - about true values.
Author: Timmothy Bishop