Catch-22

Terrific novel! I really enjoyed the comedy at the beginning, was thrown off by the seriousness of the second half, but loved the ending. The looping narrative was a great idea. The change of tone bothered me at first--I kept waiting for the comedy to return--but then I realized that, after all, this is a war novel and it should be disturbing. The characters were fascinating and original, the comedy was laugh-out-loud funny, the tragedy was moving, and the narrative was varied but always readable. This might actually replace one of the novels on my Top Ten list. I have to think longer on it, but it is certainly up there.