Which book to read first?

[Nazish]

I've borrowed two books from the library, viz;

-The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy
-Catch 22

I'm in a state of fix which one to read first. Which one would be more engaging and a page turner. Suggestions please :)

[Transmodernism]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is hilarious and occasionally philosophical and theological. Catch 22 is gory on scale that makes Saving Private Ryan look mild.

Just laying it out for you.

[laymonite]

Catch-22

[dfloyd]

It has survived criticism to date and may be on its way to becoming a classic. It is a novel, much of which is written tongue-in-cheek. The irony with which the novel is written excuses any references to bloodletting. Someone who doesn't understand this, doesn't understand this hilairious novel

[kelby_lake]

Hitchhiker's quite easy to read.

[Transmodernism]

It has survived criticism to date and may be on its way to becoming a classic. It is a novel, much of which is written tongue-in-cheek. The irony with which the novel is written excuses any references to bloodletting. Someone who doesn't understand this, doesn't understand this hilairious novel

Actually, in my opinion it is the very fact that the blood-letting is supposed to be "hilairious" that makes it so disturbing.

In Catch-22 there is a description of a soldier with his chest blown open. The narrator describes looking through his rib-cage into his open stomach and seeing there the stewed tomatoes from lunch. He describes it in a droll, dry sort of way.

Undoubtedly this is hilarious, in a Joker-esque sort of way ("why so serious?").

I'm not saying it's a bad novel. I'm just saying its disturbing.

[dfloyd]

It is well on its way to becoming a classic, which will never be the case with Hitchiker. I'm not saying Hitchiker shouldn't be read, but it's nowhere near up the ladder of literature as Catch 22. Also, the men who served in WWII, saw a lot more human carnage than that described by Heller. Try reading Mailer's Naked and the Dead. It makes Heller's novel rather pale. War is Hell!

[TheChilly]

After reading this post...


(goes to pick up Catch-22)