Other than that, the progression of the novel is relatively straightforward – had it not been for the occasionally confusing and misleading writing (this is likely intended on the author’s part). The remainder of the novel takes place in the current year (1944), with two exceptions that both dart back a few years or so, the first to the ‘Great Big Siege of Bologna’ and the second for the sake of backstory towards Milo and his organization. After being sent back to Pianosa’s front (much to his annoyance), Yossarian meets with other equally strange and interesting characters. An individualist prioritizing his own life and interests before that of others, he seeks shelter from the dangerous duty as a bombardier in a military hospital by pretending to have a pain in his liver. The story follows WWII bombardier Captain John Yossarian and his fellow officers stationed on the Italian island of Pianosa. Therefore, only the major and most evident themes and will be explained. As a result there is a colossal amount of information to unpack and simply cannot be all thoroughly explored in one review. This, is perhaps one of the major reasons for Catch-22’s seemingly everlasting success and fame as a narrative. Amongst the mass of characters and their individual stories, is understandably a plethora of themes that conglomerate into this novel. Written by Joseph Heller in 1961, Catch-22 is an absolute masterpiece of a novel that rivals giants such as Kafka’s Metamorphosis or Susanna Collins’ The Hunger Games even to this day.
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