Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Originally published in 1961, Heller’s novel has stood for over 50 years as a dark, yet hilarious take on the horrors of war, bureaucracy and life itself. Heller deftly combines satire, farce, absurdity and stark realism to tell the story of a World War II bombardier squadron, in particular Captain Yossarian, as they attempt to survive their deployment in Italy.

For those interested, Heller published a sequel to Catch-22 in 1994 entitled Closing Time. It continues the stories of a number of the original novel’s characters after the conclusion of the war. Reviews have been decidedly luke-warm.