Catch-22

Like Max previously mentioned, Catch-22, according to the MPs, states that agents enforcing Catch-22 need not prove that Catch-22 actually contains whatever provision the accused violator is accused of violating, and so is basically a nightmare of bureaucracy. It is also a paradox, which is repeated many times throughout the novel, such as "The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likable. In three days no one could stand him." One of the biggest Catch-22s in the novel is that everyone needs a certain number of missions before they can go home, but after you get those missions, the command raises the required number, forcing everyone to do more missions, and lessen their chances of coming home alive, "The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on, and that includes Colonel Cathcart. And don't you forget that, because the longer you remember it, the longer you might live."
Most of the novel is set on the island of Pianosa off the coast of Italy, during World War II, but flashes back to the Great Siege of Bologna for a small part of the novel. power Along with Yossarian, a bombardier, we meet a wide range of interesting, and their are few minor characters. These men all belong to the Fighting 256th (or "two to the fighting eighth power") Squadron.
Like Yossarian, Heller was a bombardier in Italy during WW II, and although he was touted as a hero at home, felt more like the anti-hero. Many of Yossarian's bombing runs, like Hellers, were "milk runs", and both felt that it was fun in the beginning, but later became cynical.
This cynicism is evidenced in the style of Heller's writing, and he seems very sarcastic, and disgust at the levels of absurdity found in the bureaucracy.
While Catch-22 may look a bit intimidating at first, large book, very small words, I found that once you got into it, the chapters just started to flow by. I really enjoyed the witticism and the sarcastic language found throughout the novel, and highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes a book that has the capacity for you to lose yourself in it. These very real characters all lend an air of realism to the novel, and it isn't very hard to find yourself laughing at one of Yossarian's many plights.