Catch-22: No.

I don't like not finishing a book.  They stick with me and eat away at my perfectionism.  I can name several books I have never finished off the top of my head.  Don't believe me?  Here I go, in no order: Pride & Prejudice.  Atonement.  Underworld.  Moby Dick.  The Fellowship of the Ring.  Catch-22. 

Not finishing a book fills me with a sense of failure.  I have been beaten.  By words.

BUT!

No more!  I am washing my hands of Catch-22.  It will not reside on my conscience and taunt me.  I won't let it, because It is not worthy of hurting my spirits.  

That book was awful. 

 Whenever I peruse the book forums (as I so often do in my spare time), there are a vast majority of readers who have drank the Catch-22 cool-aid.  They rave about what genius Heller has, and claim that if you don't understand the genius behind Catch-22, you should be tossed in a pit with James Patterson novels for the rest of your life. To all those trollers I say: I get it.  I understand why you gush over this novel.  But just because I understand the novel doesn't mean I have to like it.

What is so genius about Catch-22?  It is (as my reference book calls it), the "antiheroic antinovel."

This breaks down into two parts:

Antiheroic: The novel is very anti-war.  All of the brilliant soldiers, fighting proudly for our country cannot be found in Catch-22.  The book is full of characters that are quirky cheaters and idiots.  They desire to be out of the service as quickly as possible because, like any sane person, they fear death.


Antinovel: All of these quirky soldiers could have been endearing if placed in a regularly structured novel.  This novel goes against any normal timeline. It starts in the middle of the events, but doesn't tell you it's doing that.  It jumps around through time without telling you where you're going or why.  It is so strange that Heller himself needed a two foot diagram in order to keep track of everything. You're reading a book that has no order of events.  There is no rise in action, or plot.  There is nothing to look forward to except more insanity.

So!  There you have it.  That is what the big deal is about Catch-22.  Ask any one of Heller's fanatics and they'll blurt out something about how the novel is about insanity and war.

Does that make it an enjoyable read?  Not remotely.  

Is Heller making a good point about what happens to your mind in wartime?  Absolutely.

Could this easily have been a novella and expressed the same point, instead of a 450 page novel?  Indeed it could have! 

Will I ever force myself to finish Catch-22? ... NO!