Catch yourself reading this classic

This summary was shared on Goodreads for the 2011 edition of Catch-22:

“Fifty years after its original publication, Catch-22 remains a cornerstone of American literature and one of the funniest—and most celebrated—books of all time. In recent years it has been named to “best novels” lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the London Observer.

Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. (from www.nationalbook.org)

This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller’s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.”

A reviewer for Amazon gave it this review:

“Catch-22 was a dark and comedic novel that turned from “Oh no this’ll be some funny war story” but as you get to the middle you realize how horrific the situations become, and you start pitying the characters and hating some, and later learn they die horribly, some suicide some being mutilated by plane engines or drowning or being thrown from windows. You start feeling panic and anger for people who you know are innocent and are telling the truth, yet their witnesses lie and plunges him into a word of hate and injustice, and scenes where you cry out of pity, where you know that guy didn’t deserve to die, yet still did… oh it was still funny at some parts.

But this novel is definitely not for the younger audience out there. It contains a significant amount of prostitution and some rape, with lots and LOTS of graphic detail in both ways (but most detail during bloody scenes, not much sexual details).

Anyways, this novel is a classic and will forever stay in my heart as one of the most influential stories I have ever read.” (www.amazon.com)

Do you think you are mature enough to read it? If you do (or have) read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, let us know what you think in the Comments section below.