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I decided it was finally time to read Catch-22 so I could get the cultural references that come up from time to time. I couldn't finish it.

In each chapter, we meet some odd characters with odd names that are probably supposed to make the reader laugh. We encounter some kind of circular logic. We have an absurd situation. And nothing really changes, and then we move onto the next chapter with new odd-named characters, new circular logic, new absurdities. 8 chapters into the book I skimmed through the chapter titles, which are nearly all odd character names, and realized it was likely going to be the same pattern again and again. The problem is that I wasn't entertained, and so in the middle of my 8th mission I decided that it just wasn't worth it and deserted. I won't make it to 42 missions.

Repetition to drive home a point can be very effective. It seems that a lot of people have been entertained by Heller's writing. I wasn't, so I couldn't deal with the monotony. Heller, I think, wanted to show us the absurdity of the military in a time when we were still feeling good about the military after WWII. It was a bold thing to do, and the success of the novel shows it was effective for a lot of people. I appreciate the idea behind the novel, the execution just didn't work for me at all.

The Seep is a story about grief, more than anything else. The description of how Trina deals with her grief is well written. But I give the book only 3 stars because it feels shallow. How do we have multiple characters who turn out to be so important to Trina and her journey, without us learning much about them? I finished the book in an evening, and felt that perhaps something important had gone over my head because the story just seemed to be missing something. Trina is native, and Jewish, and trans. Does any of her identity and cultural background influence how she deals with the world created by the arrival of the Seep? It feels like it should be relevant, and I can speculate, but if there were hints from the author I missed them.

Despite the shallowness, the parts that are there are very good. Porter creates a really interesting world, a utopia where our material needs are met and the horrors of capitalism are in the past. Utopias seem like they should be dull to write about but Porter proves this wrong.

After finishing the book, I learned that a friend has a different edition that also includes a short story that goes into more detail about the boy and Horizon. Perhaps that edition would have felt more complete to me.