Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    CATCH-22
    CATCH-22
    CATCH-22
    Audiobook19 hours

    CATCH-22

    Written by Joseph Heller

    Narrated by Jay O. Sanders

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction; critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos; and much more.

    Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

    Now a Hulu limited series starring Christopher Abbott, George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, and Hugh Laurie.

    Fifty years after its original publication, Catch-22 remains a cornerstone of American literature and one of the funniest—and most celebrated—books of all time. In recent years it has been named to “best novels” lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the London Observer.

    Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

    This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller’s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.

    Editor's Note

    A satirical masterpiece…

    This satirical masterpiece brilliantly captures the bureaucratic absurdities of war. With a title that’s become synonymous with an intractable problem, Yossarian & co.’s tragicomic plight resonates to this day.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateAug 29, 2017
    ISBN9781508251521
    CATCH-22
    Author

    Joseph Heller

    Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn in 1923. In 1961, he published Catch-22, which became a bestseller and, in 1970, a film. He went on to write such novels as Good as Gold, God Knows, Picture This, Closing Time, and Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man. Heller died in 1999.

    More audiobooks from Joseph Heller

    Related to CATCH-22

    Related audiobooks

    Literary Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The 40 Greatest Books To Read Before You Die

      Apr 25, 2021

      Books, books, books. They will increase your lifespan, lower your stress and boost your intelligence. They will give you fuller, thicker hair. Whatever the breathless claims about reading, one thing is certain: losing yourself in a great novel is one

      14 min read

    • Article

      The Corridor Stories

      Sep 1, 2022

      The Corridor Stories
      5 min read

    • Article

      Fragile Evidence

      Nov 1, 2021

      In 2008, just after college, I spent the summer traveling across Texas in a midnight-blue Corolla with a crooked “Yes We Can!” Obama bumper sticker. I’d been hired by a new organization called the Texas After Violence Project, founded by Walter Long,

      11 min read

    • Article

      War at Her Door

      Jul 27, 2021

      War at Her Door
      6 min read

    • Article

      'Neruda' Plumbs The Man Behind The Legend

      Apr 10, 2018

      Although Eisner's fascination with the celebrated poet sometimes lapses into hagiography, he frankly chronicles Neruda’s dark side.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Finding Facts In Fiction

      Mar 12, 2021

      Finding Facts In Fiction
      10 min read

    • Article

      Sweeping Sorrow

      Mar 29, 2022

      Sweeping Sorrow
      15 min read

    • Article

      The Resister

      Feb 23, 2018

      The Resister
      6 min read

    • Article

      ‘I Was The First Who Fell’

      May 16, 2023

      ‘I Was The First Who Fell’
      13 min read

    • Article

      A Symposium On The Mysterious

      Sep 1, 2023

      A Symposium On The Mysterious
      24 min read

    • Article

      A Grudge & A Pistol

      Mar 28, 2021

      A Grudge & A Pistol
      4 min read

    • Article

      “We All Have An Expiration Date”: The Death of a Prison Writer

      May 2, 2020

      Among the many incarcerated who have died from COVID-19 was Marshall Project contributor Timothy Bazrowx, one of Texas’s best chroniclers of prison life.

      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Dec 1, 2022

      My father Alfred Emile Maloret (born on Jersey in 1900) told me that, around 1910, he witnessed the aftermath of a fish fall in St Helier, when the streets were littered with small, herring-like fish. Some years later, while walking down a country la

      7 min read

    • Article

      In Love And War

      Jun 10, 2021

      April 1943 - Krakow, Poland Irena was bent over her needlework, stitching the frayed seam of her skirt when she heard a single gunshot ring out. She jerked and then scowled. After four years of war, she ought to be used to it. Why, the other night a

      11 min read

    • Article

      Escape From Auschwitz: The Most Extraordinary Holocaust Story You’ve Never Heard

      Jun 4, 2022

      Escape was lunacy, escape was death. To attempt it was suicide. That much had been taught to Walter Rosenberg early, within a week of his arrival in Auschwitz, aged just 17, at the start of July 1942. One afternoon, he and thousands of others had bee

      14 min read

    • Article

      June Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Jun 2, 2021

      This June, we're tentatively removing our masks in public parks and curling up with new books from Kate Zambreno, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Lisa Taddeo, Kristen Arnett, Rivka Galchen, and Italo Calvino. The post June Preview: The Millions Most Anticipate

      8 min read

    • Article

      Readers' Letters

      Feb 8, 2023

      Readers' Letters
      4 min read

    • Article

      Not Enough Beds

      Jul 1, 2020

      Not enough beds, enough sponges and clean rags, enough pillowcases. Not enough hospitals. Fifty thousand patients, in a city with a population only half again larger than that. Not enough shovels, neither time nor room to bury the dead. Not enough ch

      5 min read

    • Article

      Recovered Memories

      Nov 17, 2023

      Recovered Memories
      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘Hope Matters’: Ukrainian And International Authors On Why Literature Is Important In Times Of Conflict

      Oct 6, 2022

      Ukrainian literary scholar and journalist War takes away the ability to speak from many. Many writers say that they cannot write. A number of readers claim that they cannot read. The reality of war is something that can deprive you of the most import

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Weirdest Ghosts Of All?

      Feb 25, 2021

      The Weirdest Ghosts Of All?
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for CATCH-22

    4/5

    10,692 ratings284 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      I'm another person who couldn't finish this book. I tried, mainly so that I wouldn't have to return it to my friend with an apology for detesting one of his favorites. Maybe two-thirds of the way through I had to give up.

      The rambling repetitiveness in the narrative is, I think, supposed to represent the futility of the characters' struggles, their insanity, and the how the war would never really end for them. Unfortunately, it was just too much circular non-logic to tolerate.

      Another problem for me was the way the story jerked between bitter satire, outrageous farce, and annoying accounts of everyday drama.

      Heller's depiction of World War II seemed more fitting for a government office than a warfront. Even if that is how he remembered the war, the setting didn't feel real. I didn't care about any of the characters and often struggled to tell them apart. The plot was inconsequential. I felt that I was wasting my time once I'd absorbed the gist of the book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Catch-22 is a very different book than what I normally read. It is very comical, crazy, and confusing, but Joseph Heller somehow mixes all of the craziness together to create a somewhat sensible piece of literature. This is not one of my favorite books, but it is quite funny at times.The story takes place during World War II. The protagonist, Yossarian, is part of one the US Air Force bomb squadrons stationed in Pianosa in Europe. The war is in full swing and the squadron members continue their missions to help with the war. The actual story line of the book is very confusing. It seems like the book is made up of small little anecdotes focusing on different member's lives and experiences, but they all tie together through common characters. Some of the stories seem to be out of order chronologically at some points and made me slightly confused. Also, the characters occasionally reference events that have not been talked about in depth, further adding to the confusion.The characters in the book were some of the best I have ever read about. Each had specific quirks and problems that persisted consistently throughout the book. Each interaction between them always seems realistic and crazy. Each character left a unique impression on me as I read through the book. Some characters were cowards, intellects, or just plain weird. I found myself becoming attached to them and every event had a much stronger emotional impact.Large picture aside, the dialogue and events in the book are very funny. The characters constantly contradict themselves and their compatriots and create ridiculous problems. Their antics lead to sometimes unwanted results, but they always take everything in good humor. Some of the events are much more serious however, but Heller was still able to put a slight twist in them to make it a little more funny.The contradictions, however, created a lot of confusion for me. I found myself lost and puzzled by what exactly happened at some points in the book. I would go back and try to reread the section and I usually was able to decipher the true meaning of what exactly occurred. However, there were a few times where I was forced to continue even though I did not have an understanding of what happen. This made the book a much harder chore to read than most, and it caused me to put down the book more times than I would have liked.Catch-22 is a amazingly funny book. The characters were some of the most special and witty characters I have ever met. The story was very intriguing and the dialogue was comical. There is no other book I have ever read that is anything like Catch-22. However, I found myself not wanting to read the book a few times. The events created a very confusing setting to follow. If you take the time to really read and understand the book, Catch-22 is very wonderful.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Great book. I liked it but it is long book. worth it.
    • 1/5
      Quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. Save yourself the time and skip this one.

      The premise of the famous "Catch 22" is mildly amusing when first encountered, but quickly becomes tiresome as its logic is recycled across dozens of slightly different permutations of mind-numbingly repetitive dialogue. The whole book felt like an extended edition of "Who's on First?" that dragged on well past its shelf life.
    • 4/5
      I would vote for it as it is such a beautiful novel that tackles so many real-life issues. I loved it to pieces and wish everyone would read it just once in their lives :) If you have some great stories like this one, you can publish it on Novel Star, just submit your story to hardy@novelstar.top or joye@novelstar.top
    • 5/5
      I had no idea what I was about to listen to.. I was entertained the whole way thru. Great read, even if you aren’t military fluent.
    • 3/5
      I've tried to read this book a couple of times before but couldn't get more than a few pages into it. This time, though, I forced my way through.

      All I really got from this book was that it was satire. Focusing mostly on war and the related insanity and horror, but also poking at bureaucracy and commercialism. Some bits were amusing, but it was never really all that funny. Typically, it was just confusing (which I do think was a bit of the point). Sometimes, though, it was rather... horrifying?... because of all the mentions of whores, sex and rape. Were they just there or was there supposed to be some sort of (satirical) point other than to make me meander off into a mental rant on sexism?

      Once I hit over the half way point, the confusion started to clear up as the random, disjointed scenes became connected. And while that than clarified the events that happened in the book, it'd didn't really help me find a plot or a point or any enjoyment. The end of the book could have been inspiring (in a weird way since it would be celebrating a soldier's plans to go AWOL) but by that point (well, much earlier really) I didn't care what happened either in the book or to the main character. Plus, it came on the heels of a bit that I felt was just slathered in pretentiousness so I had fully disconnected.

      I'm sure I could babble more about this book and give this some substance, but it's been two days since I finished it and I just don't care anymore. I can, however, see why it was a popular book when it came out because of the way it describes the horrors and insanity of war. I totally bought into that but... but I still didn't care.
    • 3/5
      3.5/5 stars.

      I listened to this on Scribd!

      I found this book to be read very comedically (I enjoyed the narrator a lot) and it made it quite easy to want to listen to this book, to find something fun to enjoy about it.

      This book follows Yosarrian, a Captain in WW2. This is meant to be a satirical piece of literature about the war. Although this was written quite interestingly and it did make me think about the war and what everyone had to go through, I just felt like everything was so chaotic that I had a hard time actually following along with what was going on.

      I did enjoy the repetition of dialogue between characters because I feel like in a sense the whole purpose is to make you feel like you are going insane. This works REALLY well.

      Overall, I did enjoy this book. With me not enjoying too much historical fiction too often anyway, I'm genuinely surprised I liked it at all!
    • 4/5
      A staple to read for American literature. The phrase "catch 22" is used in almost every field. It's long but worth the read.
    • 2/5
      I had been looking forward to this book and I thought it would be better.
      While the irony and satire are fun and really cool, they were too excessive. It was hard to follow the actual story, which is stupid, through all the satire and repetition. I understand that is the point of the book but it is certainly not worth it.
    • 5/5
      One of the greatest social commentaries about war and the absurdity of life. Sanders does a wonderful job bringing Heller's work to life.
    • 4/5
      A subversive classic.
    • 2/5
      Where’s the ending? Some parts were funny, but overall a waste of time.
    • 5/5
      Joseph Heller is a great story teller. This book was very funny with a very good message about how pointless it can be to fight for a cause. The characters are unforgettable and the reader is able to sympathize with Yossarian, the main character. Catch 22, in my opinion, is a masterpiece of social satire and a very humorous look into the face of death. If you haven't read it, you should because it is a very enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely breathtaking, not only the book on its own, but the reading as well. Amazing!
    • 5/5
      Awesome. I loved it. Funny parts, exciting, and not funny parts
    • 3/5
      If you’re one of those folks with a “100-page rule,” forget Catch-22, because you’re not going to make it. It takes about 200 pages for this book to make any sense at all. Before the turning point, it’s just a pastiche of different characters’ viewpoints on miscellaneous things. And it’s deliberately nonlinear in terms of time sequence or chronology, so about the only thing you can do is struggle through it and appreciate the dry humor and the satire against the stupidity of war and the ineptitude of bureaucracy. However, if you do make it past the first 200 pages, you will begin to see it come together, at which point you can appreciate the stupidity of war and the ineptitude of bureaucracy even more. Beyond that, this postmodern novel makes some bold philosophical statements about the inequities and the injustice of the human condition and the drastic unfairness of the whole game that we’re being forced to play, with all the “Catch-22s” that are built into the insane system. It’s worth the effort if you set out in advance that you’re going to finish the book. But it is not, in my world, a fun-to-read or an amazing four- or five-star novel.
    • 5/5
      I had tried to read this book several times and the mistake I made was trying to figure out what was going on in the first few chapters and not understanding. The book goes back to the same key scenes several times and each time you get a little more information about what is going on. I am really glad I made it through the whole book. It gets better as it goes on. It is very funny at points and also very sad and depressing at points. Definitely does not paint a good picture of war. I also was amazed at the ending. I thought it would start being cliche, but even the last chapter had unexpected funny events.
    • 5/5
      One of the best anti-war books ever written - mostly because it is told with such biting humor and wit. There have been many written, but few with a sense of hilarity that succeeds in making the point that much more compelling. For showing us that zany, chaotic aspect of war, Heller is my hero.
    • 2/5
      Een bijwijlen hilarische anti-oorlogsroman die een begrip heeft gelanceerd dat sindsdien gemeengoed is geworden. Daarmee is ongeveer alles gezegd over dit cultboek. Heller voert een groot aantal karikaturaal getekende (strip)figuren ten tonele die hun tijd verdoen met absurde spelletjes, (onnavolgbare) conversaties, en paniekerige bombardementen op duitse doelwitten in Itali?. De roman slaagt erin de absurditeit van de oorlog in de verf te zitten, maar het Monty Python-gehalte (jawel, een anachronisme) ligt me iets te hoog. Geef mij maar de gestileerde zwartgalligheid van Celine.
    • 2/5
      I found this book very annoying to read after the first little while, though it was interesting.
    • 5/5
      Jay O. Sanders is a wonderful narrator! It’s like reading to a child with all of the voices for each character. He along with Mr. Heller paint a fun and crazy story that is the escape from the darkness of war. Wonderful detail and elegant descriptive writing.
    • 5/5
      Always a great read. A wonderful, and currently timely, study in abuse of power, greed, and human nature.
    • 5/5
      This book needs no praise from me. Fantastic writing and dealing with new and important ideas, this book is fun and original and extremely funny.
    • 4/5
      Remembered how great it was in high school so decided to re-read on it's 50th anniversary. Still as funny, poignant, and meaningful as the first time, but I had less patience to really appreciate Heller's prose. He is a magnificent writer.
    • 4/5
      Pretty hilarious, and the audiobook was fun to listen to. Just the right amount of voices and expression to keep you interested without becoming overwhelming!
    • 5/5
      A first rate presentation of an extraordinary and important novel. Heller's tour de force bears reading over and over again. It is a masterpiece of compassionate, incisive black humor as topical today as ever. Belongs in one's literature collection with Orwell, Kafka and Thurber.
    • 2/5
      10 chapters in, and I still don't know what is the plot of this book. Yes, there are some funny moments but overall this was a boring book. Maybe it keeps the attention of those who have served and can related to the characters.
    • 2/5
      A 'classic' it may be but for me the inanities were too much. A tiresome read
    • 4/5
      This appears on so many greatest books of all time lists i had to read it. I am surprised it is so popular, not because it was bad but because it is so unconventional. Must of been considered very experimental when it was released, its like a Tarantino film in book form told out of order. Very funny.