Yes. Heller's Catch-22 is one of the seminal works in the construction of my consciousness. I was a wee lad in the late 60's and one day, I aimlessly rifled thru a stack of books that my father owned. I picked up a hefty blue tome, Catch-22 and happily went down the rabbit hole. Heller's masterpiece. A few pages in, and I already had my mind blown. I didn't know that such a novel was possible. It turns out there are very few novels as good as this one.
It's not just about World War II. It's about American consciousness, the dreams, the nightmares. It's about the madnesses, great and small, of Life. Yossarian is the stand-in as the last "sane" man in the Universe, and, well, of course, he's certainly crazy too. How is it that Human Beings will gladly go over the cliff, together and alone? Why are we all so good at driving each other mad? Why do we gather together into groups, small and large, and spin up the whirlwinds of madness? Why do we revel in idiocy, murder, mayhem?
History is a long careening string, and humbling display, of our crazy-making abilities. Often it seems we spend our time trying to convince ourselves and each other that up is down, war is good, madness and stupidity are required to make it in the world. Heller's book is totally relevant today. It's the same Unvierse. Did I mention it is also totally hilarious? Page after page of mad-cap humor and brilliance. Powerful, vivid, unforgettable. Another key brick in the wall of my consciousness, for sure. Hghly recommended.
