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Well. Several people whose judgment I trust recommended this novel as a must-read. So naturally, I couldn't wait to get stuck in.
The story centres around Yossarian, a bombardier in the US army in the latter part of the Second World War. Not wanting particularly to die, Yossarian would do anything to avoid flying more missions. The problem is, every time he approaches his mission allocation - after which he has been assured he can go home - the colonel raises the number of missions. This sets the scene for the whole novel.
The first chapter sees Yossarian in hospital under false pretenses. Heller's dark, cynical humour is evident right from the start, and what you see in chapter 1 is pretty much what you get for the next 42.
And that's probably why I didn't enjoy this book very much. His characters struck me as satirical, absurd, maddeningly obtuse, and worst of all: I just didn't appreciate his humour. And if you don't like that, you're probably going to have a hard time finishing this book at all. Much like me.
To summarise: In the opening chapters, a large number of characters are introduced, the timeline is irregular, and it's easy to get lost.
In the middle, it doesn't really go anywhere and I found myself skipping over some of the more prolix paragraphs because I just didn't care what was happening.
Finally, towards the end, knowing the characters a little better, things seemed to flow. The way things come to a head was nicely done.
On a positive note, I'm glad I read this novel, because it's a good, anti-romantic portrayal of the absurdities of war. But did it work for me? No. Humour is always going to divide audiences, and it grated on me so badly, I'm going to make sure I read a few pages into the next satirical novel I buy.
The story centres around Yossarian, a bombardier in the US army in the latter part of the Second World War. Not wanting particularly to die, Yossarian would do anything to avoid flying more missions. The problem is, every time he approaches his mission allocation - after which he has been assured he can go home - the colonel raises the number of missions. This sets the scene for the whole novel.
The first chapter sees Yossarian in hospital under false pretenses. Heller's dark, cynical humour is evident right from the start, and what you see in chapter 1 is pretty much what you get for the next 42.
And that's probably why I didn't enjoy this book very much. His characters struck me as satirical, absurd, maddeningly obtuse, and worst of all: I just didn't appreciate his humour. And if you don't like that, you're probably going to have a hard time finishing this book at all. Much like me.
To summarise: In the opening chapters, a large number of characters are introduced, the timeline is irregular, and it's easy to get lost.
In the middle, it doesn't really go anywhere and I found myself skipping over some of the more prolix paragraphs because I just didn't care what was happening.
Finally, towards the end, knowing the characters a little better, things seemed to flow. The way things come to a head was nicely done.
On a positive note, I'm glad I read this novel, because it's a good, anti-romantic portrayal of the absurdities of war. But did it work for me? No. Humour is always going to divide audiences, and it grated on me so badly, I'm going to make sure I read a few pages into the next satirical novel I buy.
