Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Catch 22

It was love at first sight…….not with the chaplain but with the book…..there it stared at me from the Wheeler’s book store. Rs. 250….just the amount of money I had for the journey home. Fine I’ll go hungry….but I’ll have the book……
That was one year ago….I remember when I started it……the first reaction was that of shock…the shock one experiences with anything utterly new……….
There was Yossarian with his magnetic charm......major major major major with his insecurities…….Orr, Dobbs, Dunbar……..and god himself…..MILO……..
First time I read it I left it after 400 pages…..biggest mistake of my life…..
2 months back I picked it up again…..and fell in love all over again……
It is a different book with lotsa things thrown at you without any pretext….but therein lies its beauty……
Then there are the moments of soul searching questions………like Yossarian discussing god with his whore…….or Yossarian being the only sane one because he wanted to survive……or the very nature of catch22…………..
Yes, it helped me cure my sleeping problems………morning noon or night….I just had to pick it up and start reading….I would get the sweetest sleep ever……I am in no way trying to undermine the nature of the book……..may creepy maggots eat me alive if I do…….this is just what happened
So what is the book actually about……a lot of things….world war 2……life of combatants……various human personalities………..and catch 22 which says you can go home if you say you are crazy…..but if you say you are crazy you no longer are…………..go figure………