Catch 22

[annie0000]

A classic that I'd never read and OH bought it for me for Christmas - i'm about 90 pages in and not enjoying it much - is it worth persevering??

[joggerjayne]

Yes

[ladybirder]

Personally I would say yes, but I think it is more a man's book than a woman's.

[jno]

I think you'll have had a fair taste of it by now, so if you're not enjoying it, it won't get much better. I love it myself but there's no reason why everyone should.

[gingejbee]

Many years since I read it, but agree with ladybirder.

[annie0000]

Okay the JJ I'll give it another night or two.I have to say it's one of the worst things I have read since the Ernest Shackleton South book - that took a long time to get going....

ladybirder - maybe I should just pretend I've read it and pass it back :o)

[annie0000]

jno - I don't like leaving things unfinished, but I somehow feel that I should be enjoying it :o(

[joggerjayne]

The first part of the book jumps around a lot, and it's not easy to follow. But it becomes funnyier, and darker, and more ironic, and almost painful. Maybe I'm just thinking that it's a book that everyone "should have read"? Well, it's regarded as a modern classic, and it's a good one to have under your belt.

[joggerjayne]

"funnyier" ??

Crikey!

[grasscarp]

Jogger, you never cease to amaze me. Interesting life, good location to live in, well read......

[annie0000]

lol - loving the spelling :o)

[jno]

JJ's right, the narrative eventually settles down into a more or less straight line after going round in circles, so if that's what's bothering you, it will change. But you either appreciate Heller's humour or you don't.

[annie0000]

I'm at the bit where it is now about Major Major Major Major.

[annie0000]

think I have only found one bit funny so far....but then I have just finished Frankie Boyle's autobiography so maybe it was a change too far!!

[ladybirder]

You could try his daughter Zoe Heller's book 'The Believers', that's hilarious.

[annie0000]

cheers ladybirder - I'll make a note of that - what's it about?

[ladybirder]

A dysfunctional American family. There are loads of reviews on tinternet about it. Have a look to see if it's your cup of tea first. I'd hate for you to be disappointed.

[joggerjayne]

grasscarp ...

I don't have an interesting life. People with families, and children, have interesting lives! I just have time to do stuff, like read a lot, coz I live on my own.

Annie, I hope you do stick with it. But we won't throw rotten fruit at you if you decide to dump it.

Do you have other books on the go as well? I always have several on the go, so I can read a bit of whichever one I fancy. Maybe that would be a way to get on with Catch22? Read a chapter of that, and then have a couple of days off.

[grasscarp]

Jogger, your life is not just reading. I have a good memory. I love reading, and often wish I could be put in prison so I would have the time to read rather that work. Marriage is hard work and can degenerate in to a mess that is harder to get out of than stay in. Best thing really is the children and grandchildren and that is the thing that makes life really worth living. I bet the sea got a bit alarming down your way today!

[annie0000]

thanks ladybirder I'll do that.

JJ - not a bad idea - i usually just read the one at the time - i only read at bedtime usually so it really depends how much sleep i'm prepared to give up how much reading I get done. I will read anything generally and usually just plough through whatever I am given either as gifts or by other people so it tends to be an eclectic mix!!

I really enjoyed this one:

http://www.amazon.co....rainian/dp/0670915602

[joggerjayne]

We're used to a bit of a battering here on the precarious edge of the island, grasscarp.

Yes, I suppose marriage can be hard work. Being single can also be hard work, especially in your forties. Children are great, yes. I'm great pals with my friends' daughter, who is my goddaughter. I love to take her shopping, and she brings her pals home from school during the holidays, and at half term, to stay with me. I always tell her that I won't dob her in to her parents for things she does. I do, of course, but her parents don't let on. It's also kind of nice that I'm not actually responsible for her, and she goes home, and I can trogg off to the casino without a care. It's like being a grandparent. I suppose the thing that does sometimes upset me a bit is that my parents won't have grandchildren. I'm not sure if I'd be a good mum, but they would have been really good grandparents.