Comments on: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:50:23 +0000

Catch-22 and Catcher in the Rye — I think those were touchstones for many of us who were in high school in the 70s. I think you’re right, Gerry, about the appeal of the atmosphere of chaos and powerlessness, the phoniness and the doubletalk, to kids that age — that’s exactly how the world seemed to me. It was all run by a big bunch of liars and phonies, with Nixon at the top! And now our generation is running the world, and it’s soooooo much better….

And the film is fantastic. The shot of the planes taking off in formation — pre-CGI — is amazing. Alan Arkin, so unappreciated…

By: Gerry

Gerry — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:54:45 +0000

Is there something about Catch-22 that appeals to high school kids in particular? It was one of my favorites of that time, too, read for pleasure rather than as an assignment. I enjoyed the film back then, as well. The chaos and powerlessness that entraps the characters must have resonated for me.

You’ve made me want to re-read it!

By: Cliff Garstang

Cliff Garstang — Sat, 19 May 2007 23:22:19 +0000

I haven’t read it for a long time, but also first read it in high school in aroun 1970. I remember thinking it was the funniest, most profound thing I could imagine.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:43:09 +0000

I Googled “Catch-22″ this morning and “Lost” came up in a lot of the results, so I thought there must be some connection with the tv show.

If anyone has any questions about clues from the book, just ask them here — we’ll figure it out!

By: Catherine

Catherine — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:17:49 +0000

Catch-22 showed up on Lost a few weeks ago, too, and as any good Lost fan knows, you have to read all the books to understand what’s going on.