Kurt Vonnegut’s 11th novel and as so often before challenges his reader.
A global financial disaster has ruined the world. One million years later theKurt Vonnegut’s 11th novel and as so often before challenges his reader.
A global financial disaster has ruined the world. One million years later the ghost of Leon Trout, son of recurring Vonnegut character Kilgore, narrates the story of a boat cruise for the rich and famous, Mick Jagger was to be one of the famous voyagers, that is off to the Galápagos Islands to see the wild life, a voyage of a lifetime. The celebrities don’t make it as a financial collapse, a useless war between Ecuador and Peru breaks out and the entire world suffers an apocalypse. No one survives the worldwide catastrophe except those on the boat. It eventually makes its way to the Galápagos Islands and from there all life on earth is descended from the survivors.
The thematic points are that human species is a blend of greed, evil, and good. It is generally Humanist if it likes it or not, at times technophobic and just maybe Darwinist survivors. Vonnegut has always claimed that man is essentially a good creature. FWIW, I wonder if I agree with him on that point, though. On the other hand, he survived Dresden and I pontificate from the safety of a place that has never seen war in its existence.
Vonnegut was as usual, and strangely in my opinion, able to make Sci Fi tropes among the satire, comedy and social commentary very prescient. There was a machine called Mandarax, that was a voice translator and able to suggest quotations from literature and historical figures. I have to admit that I was scurrying down the internet wormhole just to read where a lot of these quotes used came from, and what a joy that journey was. Strangely I said? Sci Fi can fail the vast majority of the time in an attempt to use future tropes that work but for many of Vonneguts futuristic ideas he has had in his books, he has senibly used them as thematic tools. Mandrax was the invention of a Japanese man who was going on the cruise at the behest of a US millionaire who had profitable plans to its use. Google now offers on our phones an app that translates text with one’s camera. Mandrax future demise in the book may have been a comment on older generational thought not enjoying new technology. This was sad for the survivors of the apocalypse, really. No longer would they have the joys of (as per wiki and in order of their appearance in the book) Anne Frank, Alfred Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling, John Masefield, William Cullen Bryant, Ambrose Bierce, Lord Byron, Noble Claggett, John Greenleaf Whittier, Benjamin Franklin, John Heywood, Cesare Bonesana Beccaria, Bertolt Brecht, Saint John, Charles Dickens, Isaac Watts, William Shakespeare, Plato, Robert Browning, Jean de La Fontaine, François Rabelais, Patrick R. Chalmers, Michel de Montaigne, Joseph Conrad, George William Curtis, Samuel Butler, T. S. Eliot, A. E. Housman, Oscar Hammerstein II, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles E. Carryl, Samuel Johnson, Thomas Carlyle, Edward Lear, Henry David Thoreau, Sophocles, Robert Frost, and Charles Darwin.
Again, one for the Vonnegut reader in my opinion and recommended as such.
Kurt Vonnegut’s 10th novel and more of life’s absurdity.
Vonnegut is one of those observers of life’s foolishness, its inanities. Who did he base RudyKurt Vonnegut’s 10th novel and more of life’s absurdity.
Vonnegut is one of those observers of life’s foolishness, its inanities. Who did he base Rudy Waltz on, the black sheep of the family and nicknamed "Deadeye Dick" for the accidental manslaughter of a neighbour? Rudy’s father was friends with Hitler and at one point was popular in the city they lived as he knew a head of state. Imagine that, one knows a head of state and everyone thinks you are a fine fellow indeed.
A neutron bomb exploded over the city. There is this passage in the book; “Nations might think of themselves as stories, and the stories end, but life goes on. Maybe my own country’s life as a story ended after the Second World War, when it was the richest and most powerful nation on earth, when it was going to ensure peace and justice everywhere, since it alone had the atom bomb.” Mankind’s lack of civility to his fellow man is an odd take when one considers that Vonnegut has said that there is at heart a goodness in us all. Bomb one of your own cities?
Rudy Waltz claims he is a neuter. If this is a comment on the human rights of minorities, and that Rudy’s dad was a Nazis, is the obliteration of an arts centred city some kind of metaphor I am missing?
At this point, I am an unmitigated Vonnegut fan; one has to be to read 10 of his novels in nine months. As usual, Vonnegut give me plenty to think about even if I might not get it. One more for the Vonnegut reader and recommended as such
Kurt Vonnegut’s 8th novel and he reaches new levels of niche weird.
The introduction is “Dedicated to the memory of Arthur Stanley Jefferson and NorveKurt Vonnegut’s 8th novel and he reaches new levels of niche weird.
The introduction is “Dedicated to the memory of Arthur Stanley Jefferson and Norvell Hardy, two angels of my time.”
This reader sees no Slaptsick per se in the story told, but he sure reads about being Lonesome no More. Vonnegut gives the game away in the intro. He writes that “THIS IS THE CLOSEST I will ever come to writing an autobiography. I have called it “Slapstick” because it is grotesque, situational poetry—like the slapstick film comedies, especially those of Laurel and Hardy, of long ago. It is about what life feels like to me. There are all these tests of my limited agility and intelligence. They go on and on. The fundamental joke with Laurel and Hardy, it seems to me, was that they did their best with every test. They never failed to bargain in good faith with their destinies, and were screamingly adorable and funny on that account. • • • There was very little love in their films. There was often the situational poetry of marriage, which was something else again”
Let’s leave Kurt there and just say that to this reader this is genuinely strange but audacious fiction. Very niche. The passing Slaughterhouse Five readers was going to wander by this one, surely. The plot includes; The collapse of his relationship with his sister. His none relationship with his parent’s. Family schisms in general. Any rich idiot can be the President of the US. The coming of the Chinese as a world power Pandemics.
And much more that I can hardly think about such is this mixed up muddled up world of the life of Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain. This is his memoir and as the President of the United States.
And this is how Kurt Vonnegut Jr felt when this strangely compelling mélange of oddness that is, to repeat him, the closest he “will ever come to writing an autobiography”? If this is the case then he had one oddball of a relationship with his parents and his sister and all those around him.
One for the Vonnegut reader in my opinion and recommended as such.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr writes a “what is truth?” novel. In 1961 when published there was no such thing as fake news. Or was there? The term “fake news” is tKurt Vonnegut Jr writes a “what is truth?” novel. In 1961 when published there was no such thing as fake news. Or was there? The term “fake news” is to my ears of recent origin and comes from the US, at least that’s what I believe. My first encounter with “what is truth?” was many decades back when I was dragged to a pub in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley where journos got themselves smashed to smithereens on Bundy Rum and XXXX beer. This was the only time I ever went to this pub while it was infested with journos and it was at the height of the slow (at least that is what it seemed to me) political downfall of a noted premier of this state of Queensland. A drunken journo blurted out to me that they had always supported this premier as they had been told to from up above. Did YOU really support him I asked? “As close to a fascist as you will ever get” he drunkenly spluttered. So why the written word support? I asked. I got laughed at.
And that is my take on this book. One sometimes must do what one has to do even if one is not sure it is truth. But as was written very early “we are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” Indeed and especially when in a pub drunk. How cynical of Kurt Vonnegut Jr to even suggest that “truth” and all its derivatives may be pretence for the human species. This is Kurt’s 3rd book and follows his very good The Sirens of Titan. Strangely in that review I wrote that Titan’s might be about “why we might do what we do and might think what we think.” So this is very much the same thematically, but this story is told conventionally as apposed to his previous Sci Fi efforts.
This is a fictional memoir of Howard W. Campbell Jr a US spy in the WW2 who was the equivalent of Lord Haw Haw. Trouble is that not even the US authorities knew he was a spy so consequently he ends up on trial in Israel for war crimes. The question of what is truth and who really knows it is truth is what permeates just about every page. We even get good old love appearing. What shall we do with love sweet love? Let’s just say that one can pretend to be in love, but if one really does fall in love one may have to stop pretending and the consequences of that can be dire.
The consequences of pretending to be what we are not are always dire. That seemed to be Howard W. Campbell Jr's message. I tend to think he had a point.
Only a few pages into this Sci Fi satire is an excerpt from the fourteenth edition of A Child’s Cyclopedia of Wonders and Things to Do. Was Douglas AdOnly a few pages into this Sci Fi satire is an excerpt from the fourteenth edition of A Child’s Cyclopedia of Wonders and Things to Do. Was Douglas Adams influenced by Kurt Vonnegut Jr I asked myself? A very quick internet search said yes, with specific reference to this specific title. Well done Kurt, I thought to myself. In my a long time ago readings of both authors, I had never noticed. But then my youthful readings may have been wasted on me in some cases. And though I did not read this one in my youth, I know it would have been “just” a Sci Fi read with little understanding of its concepts.
As a now ancient person this was for me this was a fantastic read that I took as comment on the lack of an interventionist god, the intervention of others in one’s life on the other hand? There is plenty of that.
The plot I found is rather convoluted but came together beautifully at the end. The point of the story simplistically is that a super-rich man thanks the lord above for his constant luck but gets his comeuppance, (or does he?) by an all-knowing, of both the past, present and future, time traveller stuck in an odd time loop. It makes for a wonderful satire on why we might do what we do and might think what we think.
At least I think that is what it is all about haa haa!
A bit like Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s first book, the technical ideas are of their times but so what. Conceptually, this is great stuff. As to the Church of God the Utterly Indifferent? Brilliant.
Considering the age of this debut novel by the great Kurt Vonnegut Jr there are certain parallels to this modern life.
The major theme is that modern Considering the age of this debut novel by the great Kurt Vonnegut Jr there are certain parallels to this modern life.
The major theme is that modern technology is taking over industry to the point that it leaves many of a certain skill set without a role in society. Vonnegut Jr being a brilliant satirist has made an occasional laugh out loud satire that though showing its age in terms of using the then known machineries seemed to me to have a relevance to the modern use of AI as just one example.
One of the more interesting events in the tale told is that rioters were smashing all the machines up and that the engineers behind the revolt pleaded for them to stop as they had to decide what machines were kept and what were to be destroyed. The rioters took no notice and were even destroying bakeries, for example. What to eat now was the obvious question. Hence, Vonnegut Jr asks the reader the question, if machinery makes for a dull life what do we do without it anyway? The definitive double bind for the opposition to modern technology? One could argue so.
Highly recommended to all Takaru.
P.S I read a lot of Vonnegut Jr in my youth though the only stand-out to this day is Slaughter-House Five, so with that I have decided to read his oeuvre from the first to the last. This will take time, but so be it. This has come about for 2 reasons. Backlisted covered Galápagos and I have not read that. I need to. Also, a conversation with a well-read neighbour about Vonnegut Jr. I concluded I needed to read him out....more
Kurt Vonnegut’s 9th novel and he reverts to a more conventional style of novel last seen in his third, Mother Night.
I had read Slaughter House Five aKurt Vonnegut’s 9th novel and he reverts to a more conventional style of novel last seen in his third, Mother Night.
I had read Slaughter House Five as a late teen in say 1977 or 1978 and had devoured it; such was my Sci Fi bent of the time. This, Jailbird, was purchased on its release in 1979 probably based on my then thoughts that it may have had Sci Fi elements. I recall liking it in my youth, though now reading it into my older age I suspect I had no idea what it was about thematically. I have been surprised how much I recalled of this tale of Walter F Starbuch and his life and times, told as an autobiography. I must have reread it a few times back then.
Starbuck tells his story in a world-weary manner about his estrangement from his son, his trial for a minor part in Watergate through to a strange meeting with a past love that brings him to a position of power in a large corporation. Thematically the human condition is still at the centre of Vonnegut's writing, greed and power come forth as does religion and labour relations. What I found interesting was his inclusion of a historical labour event in the US that leads to the judicial murder of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. I have realised that my overall knowledge of US history other than WW2 and a few other topical events such as Watergate is sparse. Vonnegut has led me, through the reading of his books, down a rabbit hole as he interweaves fact and fiction into his oeuvre. This is an occurrence that I did not particularly take note of on the way through but recognise now that I am into his later books. In Jailbird we come across RAMJAC Corporation that is interesting conceptually. RAMJAC is a comment on massive corporations that are an entity all to themselves in terms of control of individuals purchasing habits and economies. It takes small mishaps to bring about RAMJAC’s downfall. This beggars the question, how long can Amazon survive small mishaps?
Again one for the Vonnegut reader in my opinion and recommended as such.
Kurt Vonnegut’s 5th novel and to this point in his illustrious career he has let the satire and sarcasm take off big time in what is in my opinion theKurt Vonnegut’s 5th novel and to this point in his illustrious career he has let the satire and sarcasm take off big time in what is in my opinion the best novel he has produced so far. The obvious and major theme is the use of inherited wealth.
Should one be generous with that inherited wealth? Protagonist Eliot Rosewater is certainly generous. His father is sure he should not be and is outraged by that so questions his sanity. Eliot does have a breakdown of kinds as he tries to help all that he comes into contact with that need assistance. Or is he driven to the edge by the pressures of his father and his class, and those that have an eye on his wealth for other purposes than humanitarian? Is it his philanthropy that is a pressure in itself adding to his breaking down? His guilt as to his part in the death of innocents in WW2?
The purposes of philanthropy run deep in this novel. Should one help those in need of assistance if they have the money to do so or if one is in a position of political power should one; for example, bring in legislation to curb the viewing of bodily hair as an attempt to curb pornography to assist helping the poor and morally degenerate work harder to rise above their station in life and be more than “people that have no use”. Vonnegut writes in such a way that either side of the questions could be answered in the affirmative or negative. It all depends on ones view.
As I have got older I personally think that political debate is the same old thing, it isn’t much different than it was in my teens, thematically it never changes. This satire from 1965 to me makes fun of the same political divide we talk about today and will do so into the future. Life is the same old same old with technological advancements changing the surrounds. First there is birth and then there is death and just luck as to how one gets to live out their life in-between. This is an excellent satire and far better than I recall in my youth. A character in the book, a highly ambitious lawyer has a poster on his wall of a Roy Cohen who I had no recall of. His wiki made quite a read and if anything made me agree with my own feelings about political debate being the same old thing then it is the life of Roy Cohen. Cohens life reads as a Vonnegut satire.
This is a wonderful book and stands the test of time. It is a read that is far better than I recall from my youth and is highly recommended for its timelessness on the topic.
In order of publication and my reading of Vonnegut’s novels.
Kurt Vonnegut’s 7th novel and followed his most and popular. How did he go? Not too bad at all in this reader's opinion.
Free will is as ever to the fKurt Vonnegut’s 7th novel and followed his most and popular. How did he go? Not too bad at all in this reader's opinion.
Free will is as ever to the front and centre of his work, with mental illness a major theme in this novel. It was initially hard to tell the direction this novel would take, as it began as a satire on what he may have thought of the life of US citizens at the time of writing. Some may say nothing has changed, some may not. What do I know? Nothing, as I have never lived there. As the story took shape it was certainly very funny at times, and with all Vonnegut’s writing so far more ideas driven with absurdist plot than some literary attempt at fine writing. Vonnegut is not subtle, he just bangs the reader around the head.
The story reached a climax in that an unknown Sci Fi writer meets a spiralling into madness used car salesman who read the writer's meaning of life novel and goes on a rampage as he interprets the book, called Now It Can Be Told, I laughed out loud at that, as a truth that we are all robots and lack free will. Is this a comment about some of mankind’s absolute faith in religious dogma as fact? I think so.
I did enjoy the crappy little line drawings on the way through. They kind of made the satire more satirical.
Recommended to the Vonnegut reader as they will get a lot out of this one.
Wiki says that “Cat's cradle is a game involving the creation of various string figures between the fingers, either individually or by passing a loop Wiki says that “Cat's cradle is a game involving the creation of various string figures between the fingers, either individually or by passing a loop of string back and forth between two or more players.”
How does that relate to Kurt Vonnegut fourth novel so named? I can but hazard a guess. The game is ultimately meaningless. In fact, life is if we think about it. We live, then we die. Religion to some holds meaning, but then the other argument is how? There is no one we have ever met that has met a God/Gods/Superior Beings and so on and so forth. And those that have, some of us tend to think a bit odd. That is why we might just act the way we do. Those that have faith and those that don’t: they do what they do for the same reason, do what we do because of our faith or because it don’t matter anyway. Human stupidity does not matter.
Cats Cradle, the book, has both the religious and the non-believers doing what they do because of that faith and that lack thereof, and that is why, as an example from this book, that they create weapons of mass destruction when there is not really a need.
To slightly paraphrase Lionel Boyd Johnson from this book about nothing but a cat’s cradle if I had the ability, I would write a history about human stupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mt Coot- tha and sit and stare at Brisbane City from above while I drank the coffee I purchased from the café and I would thumb my nose or wonder about You Know Who and what.
Recommended to those that do wonder why.
My 4th read in my attempt to read Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s oeuvre from first to last.
Kurt Vonnegut’s 6th and most famous novel is less satire and sarcasm and more commentary on man and war with very black humour. When I think back to mKurt Vonnegut’s 6th and most famous novel is less satire and sarcasm and more commentary on man and war with very black humour. When I think back to my youthful reading, my biggest recall was of the sci-fi elements that took protagonist Billy Pilgram to another planet and the vague thought that it was an antiwar novel. With this read, very much later in my life, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder felt very much the major theme. Much has been written about that, but it was not something I would have recognised in my youth. The bloke who I worked with as an apprentice got blown up in Korea and shook with fear, the old bloke on the corner who shaped up to everyone passing, this was shell shock but the fact they were inevitable victims of events that they had no control over? That never entered my youthful mind.
Antiwar The Children's Crusade A Duty-Dance certainly is, but the feeling is there that it is also a comment that war is an inevitable human condition. “So it goes” said Vonnegut after every death in this book, therefore “so it goes” could be the comment about every reoccurring human conflict over what others have claimed are generally tribal property rights. We have no choice but to be what we are. I suppose that I will get up on Monday morning and go to work. “So it goes”. Is that free will, or do I have no choice? To be honest with myself, as much as these questions make for fascinating thoughts, I am not that intelligent to really digest or understand what direction I think they should take. “Poo-tee-weet?”
I make the same comment as I did for the previous review, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. This is a wonderful book and stands the test of time. It is a read that is far better than I recall from my youth and is with that highly recommended.
In order of publication and my reading of Vonnegut’s novels.
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