BOOK REVIEW

Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

Blend of enigma, charisma and satire guides blindfolded readers through its labyrinth

            Surely one of the most ingenious novels ever penned, this piece is purposely written in non-linear fashion and so it may angst readers uncomfortable with a seemingly anachronistic narrative. Heller writes each episodic chapter from a different character’s point of view and without much context, leaping from incident to incident and it is only perhaps two-thirds of the way through the book that the pieces begin to fit together and allow the emergence of the whole portrait. While I can see how this may annoy some who feel as though they aren’t grasping the storyline, I personally was able to still enjoy the literary and linguistic wit Heller employed throughout.

                Acclaimed for being one of the most humourous satires of war ever written, I think Heller’s writing style is best captured by a friend’s analogy between him and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino: both of their works are somewhat serious and dark, often representing aphorisms of deeper issues yet are typically captured in almost comically acerbic fashion. No doubt this book is one for the true literary appreciator, who will take delight in its absurd normalcy and its novel humour often offering memorable lines and paradoxes. Once I got past my frustration that several chapters in I still had no idea what was happening, I began to better appreciate its true brilliance. 

       -NP, Dec. 2013