Catch 22
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Catch 22
Buy Now for £18.89
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Narrated by:
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Trevor White
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By:
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Joseph Heller
Summary
At the heart of Joseph Heller's best-selling novel, first published in 1961, is a satirical indictment of military madness and stupidity, and the desire of the ordinary man to survive it.
This is the tale of the dangerously sane Captain Yossarian, who spends his time in Italy plotting to survive. Yossarian is a bombardier in the 256th Squadron of the US Army Air Forces during World War II, stationed on Pianosa, a fictionalised island in the Mediterranean between mainland Italy and Corsica. The squadron's assignment is to bomb enemy positions in Italy and eastern France. Yossarian's mission is simply to stay alive.
©1961 Joseph Heller (P)2008 Hachette AudioCritic reviews
"Wildly original, and brutally gruesome, a dazzling performance that will outrage as many readers as it delights. Vulgarly, bitterly, savagely funny, it will not be forgotten by those who can take it." ( The New York Times)
"An apocalyptic masterpiece." ( Chicago Times)
The pernicious effects of unnecessary bureaucracy brought to compelling life.
You cannot listen without laughter and yet at the same time realise how awful the subject matter is.
Highly recommended
Poignant
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What made the experience of listening to Catch 22 the most enjoyable?
The reading of Catch 22 gives you the energy that comes from reading the book off the page. There's a sense that the narrator Yossarian is figuring out events as they occur in the story: so the 'discovery' tone of the reading is what is needed for the audio version. The conundrums of the novel, facts being known, facts being startling, things never getting any better, life being more comic as each tragedy takes place is well served by the reading.What other book might you compare Catch 22 to, and why?
Given its comic tone, the scope of its characters, the complexity of its telling, its hard to find a book that acts as a comparison to Catch 22. Classic literature gives you long social novels, but they don't necessarily offer you such profound comedy, and in Catch 22 each sentence is carefully crafted. Oddly, perhaps only a novelist of social insight, comedy and irony such as Jane Austin comes to mind as a comparison in terms of concentrated observational style. The American novel has its austere social authors, such as John Steinbeck, and its ironists, like Tom Wolfe or Brett Easton Ellis, but I would set Catch 22 apart as one of the 'big American novels'. Perhaps John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany is the only book I know that has the length and laugh out loud joy, frustration and despair of Catch 22.What does Trevor White bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
The reading shows the enjoyment that the written book offers. The tone of the reading matches the persona of the narrator Yossarian. In this sense the reading adds to the book. Trevor White embodies the character of Yossarian very well.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I would never want to read this book in one sitting. It's an immense work, with so many characters, so many funny events. Returning to this book through the audio is the enjoyment of it. I sometimes start at the beginning of the book, but then often just listen to a chapter by dipping in. The book is told with overlapping stories, and with so many different characters. Its a book for a lifetime: rereading is better each time.Any additional comments?
I wonder if it might be quite hard to listen to the audio version of Catch 22 without prior reading of the full novel or a detailed synopsis to hand. In this respect going to a list of the characters to be sure who is who, or having to go back and re-read or listen to the book should not be seen as a problem with the story. The interlocking, repeating, developing stories are part of the experience. The book is so precise and so quick that it requires familiarity for enjoyment of it or concentrated listening. This might make the audio book seem like a challenge. It is more demanding than a linear story where if you have a sense of the plot you can move forward even if you miss something. This is not the case with Catch 22. There's also a sense that Catch 22 has been copied in its style by other more recent war novels. Catch 22 can be understood to stem from the comic picaresque novel of Don Quixote, but what Catch 22 has is tragic depth, which is not always the case with pallid imitators. Catch 22 offers the reader or the listener more each time they return to it. There's nothing superficial about Catch 22.All the Madness You Could Ever Want
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Would you listen to Catch 22 again? Why?
Yes and. I rarely relisten to audiobooks, but this is a gem.What was one of the most memorable moments of Catch 22?
Too many to single one out.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, it's too long and too funny. I've listened in small bites to really savour the humour and philosophy.Any additional comments?
One searing indictment on the futility and stupidity of war.Brilliant all round
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My favourite book
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It's a rather good piece of literature.
I thoroughly recommend it.
Greatness
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