First published 2004
U.S. Air Force bombardier John Yossarian is trapped in a nightmare of escalating missions over enemy territory. The military's byzantine rules create an impossible situation: any pilot sane enough to request relief from dangerous combat is deemed too rational to be excused, while those who willingly fly are considered mentally unfit. As his squadron's death rate climbs and commanding officers grow increasingly detached from reality, Yossarian desperately seeks a way to survive a war that seems designed to kill him. His struggle becomes a razor-sharp satire of institutional logic, where survival depends on navigating impossible contradictions. At its heart, this is one man's defiant resistance against a system that values procedure over human life.
Genres: fiction, satire, literary-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-humor, unreliable-narrator
Period: World War II
453 pages · Paperback · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: violence