Catch-22

A satirical novel published in 1961, it tells the story of Captain Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier during World War II. Set on the fictional island of Pianosa in the Mediterranean Sea, Yossarian and his comrades face the absurdities of military bureaucracy, particularly the concept of "Catch-22," which asserts that a pilot's desire to avoid combat missions is evidence of sanity and thus makes him ineligible for relief from duty. The novel explores themes of absurdity, bureaucracy, and human survival in wartime.