Monday, December 22, 2008

Catch 22 ........

right...what now?

I've been thinking [u do that a lot when u have no other work] lately and i realized that i could possibly just possibly occupy my time constructively... but by doing what? that remains the question... I'm into my umpteenth post now and i still have no idea where im heading... or for that matter where my blog is heading. while i ponder upon this and other important questions plaguing mankind today [like who ate the last MnM from the fridge?] ill just leave u guys with my views on a book i read recently.

catch 22 by joseph heller has been around for quite some time now and i was surprised it had taken me so much time to lay my hands on it. Well frankly, if you think highly of war and heroism in war.... this book will pretty much remove the scales from your eyes. The main character yossarian is caught up at the front while a war is being waged... and his main struggle is not to win the war or to be a hero but something more realistic... his main aim is to stay alive come what may... goddamn his country. As the book begins to grow on the reader so do the characters and i for one started identifying and empathizing with them and their emotions. well i dont want to disclose the story because that wouldnt be fair, but suffice to say that it gives us a glimpse of the lives and the mindsets of the poor guys at the battlefront who have to risk their lives fighting a war that was started by old geezers, farts and friggen politicians who remain safe and cooped up at their homes while young lives are wasted fighting their egotistical wars. personally im not one of ur emotional sissies who wets their handkerchiefs while reading a storybook but catch 22 is one book that really tugged at my heart and made me go through several emotions- anger, sadnees, helplessness etc. as u see the characters suffer one by one and kick the bucket.....

You know.... if im stranded on a deserted island and am allowed to keep only one book with me... this would be it. yeah, you will probably not find a bigger Wodehouse or Douglas Adams or for that matter, LOTR fan than me.... but Catch 22 is way above any of them.

For those who have read it- the part which affected me the most was the part when the poor chaplain is tortured because of the irving washington joke played by yossarian... followed by the part where kid sampson dies at the beach... they all die one by one except orr and yossarian. For those who havent read it... what are u waiting for? get out there and read it... if u cant get ur hands on a copy contact me for the ebook, but please do read it... u wont regret it.

of course if uve never read anything beyond tinkle and archies or for that matter enid blyton.... ummm forget it. others just go and read it and im sure most of u will not regret it.. most of u. This is a book that stays with you for a long long time.

Oh and while you are at it, you might want to see the movie 'A Clockwork Orange'. All I'll say is that its worth the watch. [:)]

8 comments:

ShreyGoyal.com said...

I'd definitely want to read it now. Though if stranded on a deserted island, I'd rather choose a book titled "How to make a boat"
:)

Justice in Mercy said...

shudnt there be some kind of [SPOILER ALERT]....ur giving away the story in sm parts...

Protik Roychowdhury said...

sorry if i gave away too much..
my bad :)

Aditya Mani Jha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Arkaprava Dan said...

hmm... something to think about indeed... really, who suffers in the wars? when a country attacks another, is it the politician who is affected? is it the ruler of either land who ends up taking all the blows? excepting saddam, i think not. it's the common man (or indeed, the soldier) who's at the frontlines, taking the bullets, if not physical, then atleast mental, or financial.

Deepanjana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deepanjana said...

chotoder modhye boroder kotha bola uchit noy... but a clockwork orange? I just realize how little families really know about the children! Well I'd suggest another movie to you, Requiem for a Dream, unless you have already watched it!

Protik Roychowdhury said...

what do you mean ??!!!

but yeah ive watched requiem for a dream... :D
thats a good movie too...