Here’s the place for everyone’s impressions of the first bit of the book. Those who want to wait to participate until we tackle the whole thing next week are free to do so; otherwise, post here.
So what do y’all think? I’m especially interested in the preliminary reactions of people who’d never read the book before…
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My deepest condolensces,
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::D&R::
Well, I just finished the 7th chapter, and so far, I love it! The humor is right up my alley. Kind of reminds me of Roald Dahl’s Going Solo, which is rather mild compared to this. I’ll chime back in when I finish Chapter 14.
Favorite parts so far: TS Eliot bit, and the half-bedsheet scene.
Yossarian: “I’m the bombardier! I’m all right!”
What a great book! I held off on seeing the movie until after I’d finished the book. That turned out to be a good plan; the movie is excellent but it would spoil the ending if you saw it too soon.
One thing that is especially interesting to me that I hadn’t really thought about until after I’d both finished reading and then seen the movie, is that the insanity all around Yossarian isn’t limited to just his unit, or even the military.
The movie pretty much covers the goings-on in Pianosa and Rome. You don’t get to hear much about Nately’s family back home, or how Major Major got his name; two very good examples of the craziness that, like I said, isn’t just in the Air Force.
Be looking for that kind of stuff as you continue reading, and you’ll see what I mean.
Pete
Long time RGMWer and ardent AOLer
Well, I think the theme so far is classically absurdist; basically, Yossarian is continually astounded by the fact that in war, you have to try to kill people you don’t know while people you don’t know try to kill you, and everyone accepts this as normal and thinks of you as crazy if you don’t want to kill people you don’t know just because they’re trying to kill you. Except for the generals–they really do want you dead, or why else would they be sending you out to be killed?
Sorry for the run-on sentence; channeling Joseph Heller there.
I hadn’t read it for an easy twenty-five years and I assumed it wouldn’t hold up, but I’m pleasantly surprised so far. However, I do recall it dragging, and even being a bit precious, towards the end. Okay, it’s MORE than a bit precious all the way through, but even moreso toward the end.
I’ve never read it before (always wanted to!), and so far I am loving it! I haven’t laughed so hard in I don’t know when. I am only through ch.7, but I just picked it up from the library tonight & can’t put it down. It reminds me just a tiny bit of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and MASH.
The surprises so far: the lack of description (I am used to far more descriptive style books); the humor.
I’m really glad you picked this book & started the thread.
Man, I knew I loved this book, but I had really forgotten just how much I love this book! AND, I’m only on Chapter 4. I’m gonna get left way behind.
I’m only on Chapter 4 because of my GF. No, really, she has some disorder or something that makes reading very difficult for her, so recently I started reading to her. <Insert "Ahhh!"s and "How Sweet!"s here.> I talked the book up so much I ended up reading it to her. (We’re also in the middle of The Princess Bride.)
Anyway, my only other thought is that I should rethink my monicker. I mean, I can be whiny, but Doc Daneeka… PLEASE! “You think you’ve got troubles? What about me?”
My favorite part so far:
[Copyright Infringement]
There then followed a hectic jurisdictional dispute between these two overlords that was decided in General Dreedle’s favor by ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen, mail clerk at Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters. Wintergreen determined the outcome by throwing all communications from General Peckem into the wastebasket. He found them too prolix. General Dreedle’s views, expressed in less pretentious literary style, pleased ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen and were sped along by him in zealous observance of regulations. General Dreedle was victorious by default.
[/Copyright Infringement]
Quick question. Clevinger’s trial: A commentary on McCarthyism, or what?
“I always didn’t say you couldn’t punish me, sir…”
Publication date is 1955, two or so years before McCarthy’s rampage. Heller had worked on the book for a long time, but this is probably time enough for him to include the Clevinger/McCarthy passage.
An eerily familiar quote comes from this page:
“the taking of the Fifth Amendment by an individual queried about his Communist affiliations is sufficient to warrant the issuance of a general discharge rather than an honorable discharge.”
Military justice, baby. An oxymoron, just like the rest of the story.
Two or so years before McCarthy’s rampage, Sofa? You got your prepositions confused, there. 