[i]Kláraði bókina í gærkvöldi. Finnst hún ekki vera það meistarastykki sem margir hafa haldið fram að hún sé, en hún er alls ekki slæm. Þvert á móti er hún bara frekar góð, en samt ekki nógu góð til að teljast vera meistarastykki. Frásagnarmátinn heldur lesandanum við efnið með því að vísa sífellt fram og til baka í atburði sem annað hvort hafa þegar gerst eða eiga eftir að gerast. Það er því ekki sniðugt að hlaupa yfir kafla eða málsgreinar, jafnvel ekki setningar, ef maður vill fylgjast vel með. Það er vel hægt að leggja hana frá sér í smá stund – hún er ekki það grípandi að maður verði að lesa hana spjaldanna á milli í einum rykk.
Frásagnarmátinn er eitt að því sem gerir bókina áhugaverða. Ef frásögnin væri í A-Ö formi mundi hún etv. bara verða eins og hver önnur saga. Hún mundi ennþá vera jafn fáránleg og húmorinn jafn svartur, en hefði etv. ekki fengið alla þá athygli sem hún hlaut. Vegna þess hversu snúin sagan er, þá krefst hún fullrar athygli lesandans. Þetta er ekki bók til að lesa í þynnku eða fljótheitum.
[b]Fyrir þá sem hafa vanið sig á að lesa endinn fyrst:[/b] Ekki gera það! Að lesa endinn fyrst mundi algerlega skemma þessa sögu.
Að lokum er hér tilvitnun í söguna sem ég þýddi yfir á íslensku, og sem útskýrir Reglu 22 (Catch 22)[/i]
Það var bara eitt vandamál, og það var Regla 22, sem snerist um það að umhyggja fyrir eigin öryggi gangvart hættum sem væru bæði raunverulegar og nærtækar væri orðin til í huga manns sem væri með fullu viti. Orr var veikur á geði og því var hægt að banna honum að fljúga. Hann þurfti einungis að biðja um það; og um leið og hann mundi biðja um það væri hann ekki lengur geðveikur og mundi þurfa að fljúga fleiri ferðir. Orr væri geðveikur ef hann flygi fleiri ferðir og með fullu viti ef hann gerði það ekki, en ef hann væri með fullu viti yrði hann að fljúga. Ef hann flygi væri hann ekki með öllum mjalla og þyrfti þess því ekki; ef hann vildi það ekki var hann með fullu viti og varð að gera það. Yossarian fylltist lotningu gagnvart frámunanlegri einfeldni þessarar greinar Reglu 22, og blístraði í aðdáun. “Þetta er engin smá regla, þessi Regla 22,” sagði hann. “Sú besta sem fyrirfinnst,” samþykkti Doksi Daneeka.
Just finished the book. Did not find it to be the masterpiece many have claimed it to be, but neither is it bad. It’s quite good, actually, but I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece. The storytelling format is interesting, and keeps the readers on their toes by the constant references backwards and forwards to events that either have not happened yet or that have already happened but will not be explained until you don’t know when. Skipping chapters, paragraphs or even sentences is not a good idea if you want to keep up. This book needs the reader’s full, undivided attention. That’s not to say you can’t put it down for a while, but you had better have a good memory because you can never know what will later turn out to be important and what will not.
I would venture to say that the storytelling format is one of the things that make the book a good read. Told in a straight timeline, it would still be absurd and darkly funny, but it would also just be another story, told in a conventional way and might never have captured all the praise (and abuse) it has. The twisted timeline makes it a challenge to read, which is refreshing and keeps the reader interested.
[b]Note to anyone who hasn't read it yet:[/b] don't skip round to the ending at any time during your reading as it will ruin the rest of the book for you.
A friend aske me if If I'd seen the movie, but I haven't. I will check to see if it's available at the nearest video rental store, and will watch and review it if I do. In the meantime, here's one viewer's review And more, at the Internet Movie Database
Finally, here is a quote which explains the basics of Catch 22:
[i]There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he would have to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle. “That’s some catch, that Catch-22,” he observed. “It’s the best there is,” Doc Daneeka agreed.[/i]
I'm at the halfway point in the book and it's becoming engrossing enough to keep me wanting to be reading when I'm at work. Have laughed out loud several times at the abusurdities and ironies of it and am looking forward to going back to reading.
[i]Catch 22[/i] was first published in 1961. Critics who reviewed it either loved or hated it (there seem to have been no middling reviews), and at first it became a popular underground book, only surfacing to take its place on the bestseller lists when it came out in paperback. It came as something of a shock to readers who were used to serious anti-war novels full of pathos, with it's dark and sarcastic humour, absurd dialogues and lack of a continuous storyline. It is by many considered to be among the best American novels of the 20th century, and readers still either think it's one of the best or one of the worst books they've read.
[i]Catch 22[/i] is one of those books that get classified under "general fiction" because people find it hard to put it anywhere else. I would say it belongs to the satire genre, with war as its main sub-genre.
The setting is semi-fictional, but the story could have happened almost anywhere in the world where American bomber planes were based, within the time frame of World War 2.
Heller based the book on his own experiences in WW2, which is perhaps the reason why some of the things that happen are so realistic and the conversations often believable in their absurdity.
The book's title has entered the English language as a term for things that are at once paradoxical, impossible and absurd.
I've finished several chapters and am beginning to be reminded of a TV series that I used to like watching as a teenager. The framework in both stories is war with all its attendant madness. Not that the book and the TV series take place in the same war or even the same continent, but some of the characters in [i]Catch 22 [/i]are displaying idiosyncrasies and attitudes that remind me decidedly of some of the characters from [i]MASH[/i]. So far the book has not tempted me to sit down and read it from cover to cover in one go. I'm on chapter seven and characters are still being introduced. A main storyline has not yet presented itself, although there have been hints...
I've had this book in my "to be read" pile since sometime last autumn, and have wanted to read it for even longer, which makes it a good choice for the first in my 52 books challenge. Below are a couple of links related to the book.
[b]Author[/b]: Joseph Heller [b]Published[/b]: 1961 [b]Where got[/b]: charity shop [b]Genre[/b]: Satire, war Cover
Just after the new year arrived I got the idea that I would try to expand my reading. Having mostly read fantasy, travel and history books for the last several years, I wanted to explore new grounds. The idea was to read a book a week, choosing from as many genres and authors as possible. This blog was designed to help me keep up this resolution. I will be posting the titles of the books I intend to read, along with comments and reviews. I plan on reading both Icelandic and foreign books.
I participate in link exchanges, but only with book and reading websites. Requests for link exchanges can be posted in Comments. I DO NOT exchange links with commercial websites, so don’t ask.
About me
What this blog is about:
Reading and books.
If you’re wondering about the name 52 books, it stems from a book-a-week reading challenge I set myself. The challenge is over, but I'm still reading, and will continue to blog about the books I read and my reading experiences, and other stuff connected with books and reading.
I rate the books (if I feel like it), giving them stars ranging from zero to 5.
Books I have already read (sporadically updated):Cover gallery
Note: Some of the entries are linked to the months the reviews appeared in, because I made several entries for each book. I have marked those reviews with an asterix (*). If you want to read the whole review from beginning to end, you must scroll down and read from the bottom up (but you probably already knew that ;-) >
