Catch 22

So I finally finished the book and here is the review as promised. I loved the book, for the way its been written but of course, it did require a dictionary by my side. The book is a peak into how men in power get their way by means of bureaucracy and sycophancy to people who are even more senior. Ambition without moral, without scruples and subjecting the naive and powerless to diktats, to new rules just so that work is done by somebody else in the name of work delegation and life is jeopardised in the ever increasing number of missions one has to take, is what the book is all about. But in all of this, is Yossarian the protagonist of the story who has his way come what way, even gets a promotion even when it's his fault, has the audacity to refuse his seniors to fly any more missions and in spite of all his lecherousness and rebellion he is somebody with his heart in the right place. He is the only sane guy in the whole of combat forces, who has the courage to say no to flying any more missions, while others ostracize in the light of the day, at night they sidle up to confess that they wanted to do the same as him. 

Catch 22 is best summarized in the line that "One is allowed to do anything and everything that one can't be stopped from doing". It is the inherent constraint that comes in the situation, that really makes it so difficult a conundrum to get out of, in short it is what you call a vicious circle. For e.g. in the case when a pilot refuses to fly any more missions and wants to go home is deemed sane and because of the very saneness he has to fly more missions as only somebody who is deemed crazy would be sent home and declared unfit for flying. 

The book starts out with the narration of different incidents which has happened in different times by way of explaining the various characters in the story, so the chapters don't necessarily follow each other chronologically until the very end, when everything starts to piece together. And also the huge number of characters are difficult to keep track of (atleast for me), but by the end of the book they really don't appear to be too many characters either. As slowly most of Yossarian's friends die while on mission. 

Its a brilliant tale on the tom foolery that is carried on, in the name of bureaucracy and how spineless the people are who are part of it. It is hillarious at the same time dark and an absolutely brilliant piece of work when it comes to technique.