In March we will be reading Catch 22 by Heller.
Please post your comments in this thread.
In March we will be reading Catch 22 by Heller.
Please post your comments in this thread.
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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I've made it through the first few chapters and I'm finding it very amusing.
Yes, so far the high level of humor is quite consistent.
Dunbar's the best, until he disappears.
I think if you make a signature, you should inspire some emotion in someone else. I also think it would be pretentious for me to think I could do that.
This book is amongst my favourites! It made me read more from Heller, but "Picture This" and "Something Happened" don't come near. Still nice books to read though, but don't expect them to be this good!
I might be a bit biased though, I have a preference for books about (the problems of) war. Don't know why
I started reading it in my late teens, when I heard the phrase "that's a catch 22" and had no idea what they were talking aboutI think I've read it over 10 times ever since
Crazy as I am about this book, I also saw the movie and liked it - there's this really wicked part about the bombing... well, just saying: if you liked the book you might take a chance on the movie.
Sorry, just babbling on without giving any information on its themes and such... I'll have to think about that. I'm not used to talk about books in a "literature manner"
I do have a question for you all:
Did Joseph Heller start with the phrase "Catch-22", or was it used in the English language before his book was published?
Thus: did he use an existing expression (and help make it famous) or does the expression exist because of this book?
Wiki states that other titles were Catch-18, Catch-17 and Catch-14. It also states that Heller "coined" the phrase. I can't really figure out whether that means "came up with" or "made famous"...
It is not too late, to be wild for roundabouts - to be wild for life
Wolfsheim - It is not too late
Joseph Heller invented the phrase 'Catch 22'. What a legacy.Originally Posted by Sapphire
Fantastic book; I'd love to re-read it. Includes my favourite description ever: "an alpaca sack stuffed with hairy strawberry ice-cream" you'll understand when you get to it.
Want to know what I think about books? Check out https://biisbooks.wordpress.com/
I missed the poll though it was my choice, I try to buy the book
Art is a lie that leads to the truth.
--Picasso
Indeed, and thanks for clarifying
I remember it, the strawberry ice always comes to mind when I read about it in the news. And when I walk into hospitals I think about the "healthier death rate". Funny how some things just stick into your head...
I reread some quotes from this book I underlined, but they're not really fit for quotationIt's not that the sentences are so nicely done, or the image is so perfect... it's more that they're so sarcastic.
Take for example
I would never come up with something like that, but it really hits home (for me).Something like the above has been said a thousand times, but in this book... I don't know - just read it, Heller says it better than I ever could.
It is not too late, to be wild for roundabouts - to be wild for life
Wolfsheim - It is not too late
I've never watched the movie in its entirety...only clips here and there on youtube. My favorite is the moaning scene. It's brilliant!
The one image that sticks in my mind every time I think of Catch-22 is the Texan wrapped in white bandages, with all his bodily fluids being pumped in and out of him circuitously. It's such a creepy image. The first time I read it, I associated it immediately with Eliot's "The Hollow Men". Is that strange?
Maybe my favorite character in the book is Major Major, hilarious scene when he is first promoted.
Wouldn't that be Major Major Major Major?
How did he come up with this stuff ...
Last edited by Sapphire; 03-12-2009 at 05:41 AM.
It is not too late, to be wild for roundabouts - to be wild for life
Wolfsheim - It is not too late
I'm enjoying it a lot. I do find the way the narrative jumps around in time a bit off putting.
The flight over bologna is exciting and the scene in Rome afterward also exciting in a different way.
It seems haphazard but it still works somehow
Chapter 17 (The soldier in white) is wonderful. So dark and angry. Also it's the first time I've heard DEATH described as "her". The Usual anthropomorphic despricption is the skeleton with his scythe. With all the Men trying to kill Yossarian it's surprising.
Can anyone think of examples where death is female?
The Death-character in Neil Gaiman's books (the Sandman) is definately female.
Not sure if comic books fall under literature, though I personally do think they do
And well, in mythology there are goddesses of Death to be found... So I really doubt that Heller was the first one to come up with this idea
It did not struck me that Death was described as 'her' in Catch 22. I think I should reread that chapter...
Last edited by Sapphire; 03-13-2009 at 06:23 AM.
It is not too late, to be wild for roundabouts - to be wild for life
Wolfsheim - It is not too late
I wish I could embrace this book but find that I'm continuing to read it only because I'm genetically incapable of surrendering to a bad novel.
I'd had some trepidation going into it because of the military theme (not an area of interest to me, generally speaking) but rumor has it that it's a funny read, so I figured despite the context it might be a great piece of work. But I find it...corny.
There are so many characters, it's difficult to keep track of who's who, and it's not engaging enough for me to back track and figure it out when I get lost.
I'm about to begin chapter 6, so have a long way to go...any words of wisdom from Heller fans to making it through and "getting it"? I must be missing something!
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