Catch-22

Catch-22 is a 1961 novel by American novelist Joseph Heller.

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Although primarily classified as an anti-war novel, Catch-22 is also a critique of bureaucracy in general. The phrase "catch-22" has come into common use to mean a cyclical conundrum, or "no-win situation" based on its meaning in the book as described below. A Catch-22 situation is also inherently self-defeating: the very act of performing it prevents it from happening.

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The novel follows Captain Yossarian, a fictional World War II US Army Air Corps B-25 bombardier, and a number of other American airmen during World War II. They are based on the island of Pianosa, west of Italy.

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A magazine excerpt from the novel was originally published as "Catch-18," but Heller changed the title after another World War II novel, Leon Uris's Mila 18, was published.

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The pacing of Catch 22 is frenetic, its tenor is intellectual, and its humor is largely absurdist -- but with grisly moments of realism interspersed. As the Czech writer Arno?t Lustig recounts in his latest book 3x18, Joseph Heller personally told him that he would never have written Catch-22 had he not first read The Good Soldier ?vejk by Jaroslav Ha?ek. Some would also trace the influences on Catch-22 to the novel, A Fable, by William Faulkner

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The sequel to Catch-22, Closing Time, was published by Joseph Heller in 1994.

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1961: 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar)....

Novel: A novel (from French nouvelle, "new") is an extended fictional narrative in prose. Down into the 18th century, the word referred specifically to short fictions of love and intrigue as opposed to romances—epic-length works about love and adventures. Having become one of the major literary genr...

Joseph Heller: Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 - December 12, 1999) was an American satirist best remembered for writing the satiric World War II classic Catch-22. The literary devices established in this first novel continued in his other books. The book was partly based on Heller's own experiences and influenced amon...

Catch-22 related Images and Photos (experimental)

Catch 22 1970	Catch	Catch A Fire	Catch a Fire DVD (Widescreen)
Catch of the Day	Deadliest Catch 'Catch Crab' Sweatshirt	Deadliest Catch 'Catch Crab' T-Shirt	Deadliest Catch CD
Catch Me If You Can	Catch Me If You Can	Catch That Kid	Evening Catch Kerala