Catch-22

This is the story of a WWII bomber named Yossarian who is desperate to evade the war but trapped by the military rule from which the novel takes its title: a pilot is believed to be insane if he continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he requests to be excused because they're dangerous then he's obviously sane enough to fly. This classic 1961 war novel was banned for "indecent" language, and frequently appears on "best of the century" reading lists.