I currently reading this book. I'm now on chapter eight, but I haven't gotten the spirit yet. It hasn't been exciting me. It gets better? If not, I'm going to drop out of it and start to reading a García Márquez novel.
wow, I read it when I was 17 and I loved every second of it. It definitely gets better as you go on, but I suppose this book isn't for everyone.
>>7434190
You don't find it funny?
>>7434190
I don't find it funny either, aside for a few moments here and there.
I've never been a fan of comedy.
>>7434190
i always felt like it was funny up until a certain event happens, then i realize how horrifying it all was. i guess the spirit is just how much we build up these institutions in our heads as making more sense than they actually do. maybe that control and order is just an illusion and there's no real right answer even if you're asking the right questions.
>>7434268
How ignorant can a mother fucker be?
I think it helps a little to have an appreciation for old timey comedy like the Marx brothers and stuff. Also the humor is kind of like person's coping mechanism, until it gets stripped away and then there's just the horror of war.
I honestly laughed out loud the most reading this book compared to any other. That said, it does get better as it goes along. One particular weakness of the way it's written, particularly in the beginning, is that the chapters don't end on any hooks that lead into the next (typically because they sometimes aren't even in chronological order). I'd finish a chapter and put the book down, and I'd have nothing to wonder about until I forced myself to read again to start a new plot thread.
Again, it gets easier as it goes and it also becomes a pretty good straight war book.
>>7434190
I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I think it's at times very funny, and it definitely has a few interesting comments on war, but overall I just think it's kinda OK. I can see why it it so loved, as I can see how it influenced a lot of later books and was very different for its time (since most of the books about war back then were of your Maria Remarque or Mailer variety), but I certainly don't think it's deserving of being in the top ten of lit's all time list.
things go from funny to horrifically shitty really quick
and i love it
I loved every second of this book every time I read it. I think it deserves its praise, and think true cynics don't like, the ones who do have a bit of hope left i think
>>7434190
Haven't read it, but it might help to be a native English speaker. I get the impression that you aren't, which may be causing the problem.
>>7434233
>never been a fan of comedy
Comedy is not something one can like or dislike as a whole -- it is a taste itself. Comedy is a term used to describe a field of entertainment that facilitates the reaction of laughter, so when you say you aren't a fan of comedy, you mean you aren't a fan of Heller's style of comedy.
>>7434190
I never read books and this is my first time on this board, I'm not exactly a slow reader but do you think this might be difficult to pick up after not reading for a long time?
>>7434190
One of my favorites, but it took me three tries to get into the swing of it. Stick with it; it's very rewarding.
Is this book similar to Gravity's Rainbow? If yes, I might just give it a shot.
![WP_20151208_02_10_36_Pro[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/TmTNF25.jpg "WP_20151208_02_10_36_Pro[1].jpg")
Am literally reading it right now OP, and yes, it gets better once you learn to get past Heller's useless repetition. Hang in there.
>>7434213
I was a little younger than that when I read it (not by much), but I was the exact same way. From page one, I was in love with the characters, banter, and absurdity of Heller's military. I tore through that book, but found that not a single other person I recommended it to had the same click with it.
Read it to the end either way, you'll appreciate it when it ends
>>7436878
This
>>7434190
I loved it from the getgo but it can get a tad slow and repetitive, yes. Just read until you really don't want to anymore, why force yourself to read something you dislike? I loved it but can imagine people not feeling it.
>>7436466
It might be a bit hard because of the scrambled, non-chronological order. It's also 600 pages. Maybe pick a shorter book first.
>>7436878
>useless repetition.
Someone missed the point.
>>7436878
>useless
Pleb
i like that they've sort of kept the cover design for this over the years
more books should do that
>>7434190
I read it when I was 17 too and I loved it. And I'm not even American. Humor was good too
>>7437445
Agreed, I wish the original first edition artwork was kept for other books but I guess it depends on the copyright owners. My copy of Catch 22 is from Vintage and it's those little plastic pieces you pop out from a frame and put together yourself to make a model of a plane.
I can't think of a greater comic novel produced by an American writer. Anyone?
