Oh boy, what to say about the sequel to one of my favorite books... nothing too great. Closing Time was far inferior to Catch 22. I can't even compare them, it's just not fair, but unfortunately it's the easiest way for me to review it. Closing Time was an ok book, that had occasional spurts of comedy, which Heller did so well with Catch 22. The characters were just kind of thrown at you, mostly by getting their own chapter, instead of being introduced in another chapter and getting some background info on them before they were smacked into our faces. And while Catch 22 flowed smoothly, Closing Time was a very confusing maze of happenings, and to be honest I'm still not sure exactly what everything thing that happened meant. They were watching the PABT wedding before it happened, does that mean they were all dead, were they all dead from the beginning of the book? I don't know, I didn't understand it, and I don't think I still do. I can't wait to reread Catch 22, I don't think I will ever reread Closing Time. ( )

Had to give up on this one. Made it to about page 120 and, in the middle of the sentence, just gave up. I simply didn't care, had no idea what was going on, or what this book was about. I'd even tried switching to the audiobook along the way, hoping that would help. It did not.

There's sections where all I read was a summary of a character's life, including one that went on and on about banging every girl he ever wanted, and the character came off like that asshole you likely knew in tenth grade who bragged about all the chicks he'd done.

In Catch-22, everything that shouldn't have worked, worked. In this one, nothing worked. The characters are boring, the dialogue is decidedly unfunny, the pointed jabs are dull and miss the mark, and overall, there is no plot to speak of.

I really wanted to like this one, because I loved Catch-22 so much. This is like a déjà vu of Fight Club, having adored the first one and loathed the follow-up.

The only good thing about this novel is that it got me to re-read the first one again and enjoy it all over again.

As a big fan of Catch-22, I was eager to read Closing Time yet at the same time not expecting much.

Part of the story focuses around Sammy Singer, the tailgunner on the plane in which Yossarian fails to save Snowden, and new character Lew Rabinowitz. Most of the rest of the story follows the elderly Yossarian, Chaplain Shipman and Milo Minderbinder.

I found that the story following the characters retained from Catch-22 were full of the outrageous and witty anecdotes that you'd expect to find in a Heller novel. To my surprise, the introduction of Milo's son, nicknamed M2, is a welcome addition to the story and he fits in perfectly with the classic characters.
Where, I feel, the novel lacks is in the sections on Singer and Rabinowitz. These parts just lack the charm and ridiculousness that people familiar with Heller would come to expect.

Overall, while this book is certainly a long way off its prequel in terms of quality, I think that this should be considered entirely separately to Catch-22 and it is definitely worth a read for those who are curious. ( )

I struggled to maintain interest as the context kept switching and the climax is tedious as it is thoroughly disconnected fro the characters struggles and experiences in the book.

There are two distinct stories threaded through the book. The absurdities experienced by the Catch 22 characters and the more down to earth experiences of the other WW2 veterans Sam and Lew. Neither of the two stories are particularly bad, but intertwined as they are it falls apart. Either would have been okay as a stand alone story.

Frankly I recommend you to skip this one. There are better things to spend your time on. ( )

4/10. Non-sensical and not funny. ( )