100 Best Novels: Catch-22

Catch-22 was one of those books that kept me laughing with its absurdity, then made me quiet down as the story became more complete and somber. Stories about war can easily be put into a number of categories. They can be gruesome, patriotic, horrifying, inspiring, and so on. But funny? We don't often link humor and war together. Catch-22 is a satire, first and foremost, and it actually speaks to very serious concerns about the danger of mindlessly sending soldiers into battle without any real end in sight. It speaks about hopelessness and how people cope with it or avoid it. It speaks about how people find hope and try to survive. 

The story-telling structure was interesting, and it wove back and forth in time, referencing events that had already occurred or that would happen in the future, so at times it was difficult to follow along. However, the deeper into the novel I went, the more it all started to fit together.  Although this structure could be a turn-off to some people, I really encourage you to stick with it and just accept that it's going to be a little bit weird. It's worth it!

I really enjoyed this book and wish that I had read it years ago. Yossarian is one of those characters who draws a cult following, and I must admit that I'm glad to now be in the know. As I was finishing up this novel, I came across an NPR piece on the book's 50th anniversary (here), and I must say it does a good job of describing how people have responded to it. I recommend it!

 

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100 Best Novels

1. "Ulysses," James Joyce

2. "The Great Gatsby," F. Scott Fitzgerald

3. "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," James Joyce

4. "Lolita," Vladimir Nabokov

5. "Brave New World," Aldous Huxley

6. "The Sound and the Fury," William Faulkner

7. "Catch-22," Joseph Heller

8. "Darkness at Noon," Arthur Koestler

9. "Sons and Lovers," D. H. Lawrence

10. "The Grapes of Wrath," John Steinbeck

11. "Under the Volcano," Malcolm Lowry

12. "The Way of All Flesh," Samuel Butler

13. "1984," George Orwell

14. "I, Claudius," Robert Graves

15. "To the Lighthouse," Virginia Woolf

16. "An American Tragedy," Theodore Dreiser

17. "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," Carson McCullers

18. "Slaughterhouse Five," Kurt Vonnegut

19. "Invisible Man," Ralph Ellison

20. "Native Son," Richard Wright

21. "Henderson the Rain King," Saul Bellow

22. "Appointment in Samarra," John O' Hara

23. "U.S.A." (trilogy), John Dos Passos

24. "Winesburg, Ohio," Sherwood Anderson

25. "A Passage to India," E. M. Forster

26. "The Wings of the Dove," Henry James

27. "The Ambassadors," Henry James

28. "Tender Is the Night," F. Scott Fitzgerald

29. "The Studs Lonigan Trilogy," James T. Farrell

30. "The Good Soldier," Ford Madox Ford

31. "Animal Farm," George Orwell

32. "The Golden Bowl," Henry James

33. "Sister Carrie," Theodore Dreiser

34. "A Handful of Dust," Evelyn Waugh

35. "As I Lay Dying," William Faulkner

36. "All the King's Men," Robert Penn Warren

37. "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," Thornton Wilder

38. "Howards End," E. M. Forster

39. "Go Tell It on the Mountain," James Baldwin

40. "The Heart of the Matter," Graham Greene

41. "Lord of the Flies," William Golding

42. "Deliverance," James Dickey

43. "A Dance to the Music of Time" (series), Anthony Powell

44. "Point Counter Point," Aldous Huxley

45. "The Sun Also Rises," Ernest Hemingway

46. "The Secret Agent," Joseph Conrad

47. "Nostromo," Joseph Conrad

48. "The Rainbow," D. H. Lawrence

49. "Women in Love," D. H. Lawrence

50. "Tropic of Cancer," Henry Miller

51. "The Naked and the Dead," Norman Mailer

52. "Portnoy's Complaint," Philip Roth

53. "Pale Fire," Vladimir Nabokov

54. "Light in August," William Faulkner

55. "On the Road," Jack Kerouac

56. "The Maltese Falcon," Dashiell Hammett

57. "Parade's End," Ford Madox Ford

58. "The Age of Innocence," Edith Wharton

59. "Zuleika Dobson," Max Beerbohm

60. "The Moviegoer," Walker Percy

61. "Death Comes to the Archbishop," Willa Cather

62. "From Here to Eternity," James Jones

63. "The Wapshot Chronicles," John Cheever

64. "The Catcher in the Rye," J. D. Salinger

65. "A Clockwork Orange," Anthony Burgess

66. "Of Human Bondage," W. Somerset Maugham

67. "Heart of Darkness," Joseph Conrad

68. "Main Street," Sinclair Lewis

69. "The House of Mirth," Edith Wharton

70. "The Alexandria Quartet," Lawrence Durrell

71. "A High Wind in Jamaica," Richard Hughes

72. "A House for Ms. Biswas," V. S. Naipaul

73. "The Day of the Locust," Nathaniel West

74. "A Farewell to Arms," Ernest Hemingway

75. "Scoop," Evelyn Waugh

76. "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," Muriel Spark

77. "Finnegans Wake," James Joyce

78. "Kim," Rudyard Kipling

79. "A Room With a View," E. M. Forster

80. "Brideshead Revisited," Evelyn Waugh

81. "The Adventures of Augie March," Saul Bellow

82. "Angle of Repose," Wallace Stegner

83. "A Bend in the River," V. S. Naipaul

84. "The Death of the Heart," Elizabeth Bowen

85. "Lord Jim," Joseph Conrad

86. "Ragtime," E. L. Doctorow

87. "The Old Wives' Tale," Arnold Bennett

88. "The Call of the Wild," Jack London

89. "Loving," Henry Green

90. "Midnight's Children," Salman Rushdie

91. "Tobacco Road," Erskine Caldwell

92. "Ironweed," William Kennedy

93. "The Magus," John Fowles

94. "Wide Sargasso Sea," Jean Rhys

95. "Under the Net," Iris Murdoch

96. "Sophie's Choice," William Styron

97. "The Sheltering Sky," Paul Bowles

98. "The Postman Always Rings Twice," James M. Cain

99. "The Ginger Man," J. P. Donleavy

100. "The Magnificent Ambersons," Booth Tarkington

Sunday Currently : 47

Ah, post-Thanksgiving bliss! I am so happy to be back home in DC, curled up with the kitties by my side, all nice and warm. Having a few days off from work was wonderful, and while the next couple of weeks will involve lots of hard work, I feel well-rested and re-energized. Today is about typical Sunday laziness, with a few errands thrown in there for good measure. And lounging. Lots and lots of lounging.

reading : About the awful Metro North derailment that happened in New York this morning. We left New York yesterday morning, but it's impossible not to think about how that easily could have been us on that train. The hubs and I took that line often during our college days, and we were just gliding beside the Hudson on Amtrak a matter of hours ago. My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the derailment. 

writing :   Nothing at the moment, as I am all about the laziness. However, I must write some Christmas present lists so I can finish up my shopping and send gifts out to family members we won't see for the actual holiday. 

listening :   To Christmas music playing in an otherwise quiet house. Mmmm, holiday spirit.

thinking :    About the holidays in general. I didn't realize it last year, but it was my last Christmas in my childhood home, and all of the traditions I love won't ever happen in quite the same way again. Future holidays at my parents' new house will feel a lot more like we are visitors stopping by rather than having any sense of homecoming, and that's a bit sad. It makes me think about the home that the hubs and I are creating together and how we'll just have to embark on our own traditions to celebrate in our own way. 

smelling :    My lavender hand lotion. What is it about lavender that is just so lovely? 

wishing :   For nothing in particular. 

hoping :  For more family and friend visitors in the new year. Although DC isn't that far from New York, we've had only a handful of visits of the past 5+ years, and it would be nice to show people where we have made our home, especially since next year could bring us even further away.  

wearing :    Jeans and a sweater... I think it might be a bit warmer out today than it has been, so maybe no frozen fingers today?

loving :   Good family moments. The holidays with my extended family are always a fun time, and it makes me very thankful to have grown up close to relatives. There are always so many laughs when we are together! 

wanting :    A skirt for our not-yet-purchased Christmas tree that is both beautiful and not a million dollars. I've been scouring the internet but haven't been able to find one yet! Any recommendations?

needing :    To do some decent grocery shopping since our fridge is looking rather pathetic right now. What kind of delicious meals should we make this week?

feeling :   Nostalgic and Christmasy... December is so much fun!

clicking :   All over the interwebs! I restrained myself (a little bit) on Black Friday, but now I must prep for Cyber Monday sales to help out my Christmas shopping! 

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Last week on The Quixotic Chica:

Sunday Currently / Abandoned / Thanksgiving