( V ) Books

Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 712 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

On Another Level 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Somewhere in the first chapter (or maybe the second, if you are convinced that the first chapter is a foreword), it dawns on you: this is not normal. The main character is not dynamic. There is no real, driving conflict. There is no escalation, nor any other conventional literary mechanism used to move the story. That would probably be the best word to describe Vonnegut: anticonventional.

What follows is a masterful tale the likes of which we may never see again. The sublime tones combine with a graceful, immersive imagery and characters that are bare and gaunt while also full of fervor. The themes are beautiful and horrible to watch, but Billy Pilgrim's journey is one you won't be able to avoid. It'll call to you whenever this book is not in your hands. At any given moment, you'll find yourself murmuring to no one in particular, "So it goes."

I am not sure how this novel is assigned to high school literature classes, because the book is so subtle and layered: I would think that teaching this book to teenagers would be like describing Newton's theories to a family of Dachshunds. I guess that's why they (high school English teachers, not the dogs) descend to the level of Ethan Frome, or other such toys, to pass the time. Purely put, Vonngeut doesn't deserve to be put on your bookcase; the proximity to so many inferior works might lead someone to believe that Slaughterhouse-Five is comparable. I'd suggest framing the book and mounting it on your dining room wall, but that might prevent you from reading it again. Which you should. Immediately.

Editorial Review:

Launched in November, Dell's Kurt Vonnegut reissue program continues with one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know.

Breakfast of Champions

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 255 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Love the story, but the Kindle version's editing was HORRIBLE 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I loved this story. I won't go into much detail, because there are so many other reviews.

The only reason I gave it four stars (instead of five) was because of the low quality of the Kindle eBook.

The proofreading was HORRIBLE. Words were missing; punctuation was missing; words wereruntogether (get it?); some word swere split and joined to the next word (get it?).

I really love reading the eBooks on the Kindle, but this is a good example of a book where the quality control was severely lacking.

Vonnegut is the Best!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Vonnegut has one of the most original writing styles out there...and Breakfast of Champions is one of his best. This book is worth it for the drawings alone - which make it utterly unique and playfully genius.

If you're a Vonnegut fan and haven't read this yet, you're in for a treat. And if you're looking for another good book to read after BoC, check out National Darkroast Day.

Editorial Review:

Breakfast Of Champions is vintage Vonnegut. One of his favorite characters, aging writer Kilgore Trout, finds to his horror that a Midwest car dealer is taking his fiction as truth. The result is murderously funny satire as Vonnegut looks at war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution in America and reminds us how to see the truth.

The Sirens of Titan

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 160 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Trip to the Meaning of Life 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Abandon all native ways of thought processing. Kurt Vonnegut strips his readers' idea of reality apart and replaces it with a new one. Whether it is dark or beautiful it is the reader's choice depending on how it is perceived.
Vonnegut's, Sirens of Titan, exploits tremendous amounts of black comedy, satire, irony, and contradictory ideas. This may leave the reader overwhelmed but, he does this with grace and a complete unexpected turn of events. Even though that these ideas are blatant throughout the novel it is laced with underlying messages and philosophies.
Malachi Constant is told his destiny by Winston Niles Rumfoord and it foreshadows the novel (21). Rumfoord is a man who is "Chrono-synclastic infundibulated" (8-9). He is a man that can tell the future because he says, "...everything that ever has been always will be, and everything that ever will be always has been" (20). Constant is to marry Rumfoord's wife, Beatrice and he will travel to Mars, to Mercury, back to Earth, then to Titan (24). The theme of free will and destiny is expressed throughout the novel. He also demonstrates just how society is easily manipulated. Constant being a very dynamic character goes through a series of drastic changes from the luckiest man on Earth, to a man on Mars named Unk, then to the title of The Space Wanderer. Throughout these changes his ultimate destiny is unfolded.
Sirens of Titan has strong science fiction overtones. Vonnegut utilizes the forces of the universe to express the meaning of life. It contains space ships, aliens, and traveling to other planets which are able to sustain life.
The ideas in Sirens of Titan are very compelling and appealing to just about anyone who pursues the novel. Vonnegut has a way of creating unusual thought patterns which forces the reader to review the ideas. He tickles the idea of reality with philosophies such as infinite moments where time does not exist (301). The reader is taken on a trip to discover the purpose of humankind. Just because human beings see things the way they do from day to day, Vonnegut takes on the meaning of truly seeing things from another perspective. He has quite a way of explaining things and using descriptive imagery to really put the reader into another world. His creatures are uniquely described especially the harmoniums on the planet Mercury. These creatures are nourished by the song of Mercury, its vibrations (188). The novel is only 326 pages long, but it is able to express many of the ideas by getting to the point. Inasmuch it keeps the reader addicted to the events and always asking for more. His style is original and sometimes odd such as the run on sentences which may overwhelm the reader. It is a challenging text but it is also rewarding. His writing may seem far out there, but the reader should remember just how strange the universe really is, how much is unknown to humankind, and anything is possible.
The reader should definitely remember to always keep an open mind. Absorb the ideas and themes before making a final judgment on this novel. Prepare to be spiraling in a new wave of thought patterns, watching the universe put itself back together, and remember that the universe is stranger than it seems. Vonnegut takes his reader on a truly brilliant trip.

Editorial Review:

The richest and most depraved man on Earth takes a wild space journey to distant worlds, learning about the purpose of human life along the way.

Welcome to the Monkey House

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 78 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

embarassing at times 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I was surprised at how bad some of these are. Definitely not his best. A story like "Who Am I This Time?" is dull, contrived, and when you come down to it, kind of cornball.

Glen Williamson performs two of these stories as a play 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Glen Williamson (Google him) has been performing two of these stories for years as a one-man play: "Who Am I This Time?" and "The Kid Nobody Could Handle."

"Cheers and congratulations again! Your performance Tuesday evening was truly extraordinary. I feel so fortunate to have been there. I called Kurt [Vonnegut] the next morning and raved about you - then wrote him a note and raved some more."
--Sally Forbes, Executive Director, The Beaux Arts Alliance, New York, NY

"It was so good to see your [Vonnegut] show, which I enjoyed enormously. The stories were delightful. There was a thread running through both stories - the oddball characters, and the need for imagination to give them their place in the community. I loved your characterizations, and was bubbling with mirth at the end of the "Romeo and Juliet" piece, as was the rest of the audience."
-- Andrew Floyd
Stroud, England

"I attended [The Kid Nobody Could Handle and Who Am I This Time?] with sixth, seventh, eighth graders from both Waldorf and public schools. The children were captivated. The plots and characters seemed to speak to them profoundly. Glen is a very skilled actor. He brought the characters to life beautifully, fleshing out the unique details and idiosyncrasies of each so that we all felt like we knew them well. He is a flexible, versatile actor able to portray an incredible range of characters. It was powerful and memorable.

You could hear a pin drop in that auditorium...and that's saying something for middle school kids."
-- Jill Wolcott
Lake Champlain Waldorf School
Shelburne, Vermont

Editorial Review:

This collection of Vonnegut's short masterpieces share his audacious sense of humor and extraordinary creative vision.

Mother Night

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 99 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Why They Read Vonnegut 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I take my title from a piece by Kurt Vonnegut, "Why They Read Hesse." The "they" was the youth of America. His answer was that Hesse tells them the things they want to hear, like bad is bad. He forgot to also stress, if I remember correctly, that Hesse writes in simple sentences with few words. You can read it on a bus or a treadmill at the gym. Complexity and intellectual challenge aren't the main things here.

Vonnegut himself was a lot like that, and Mother Night is maybe the clearest example of this. It is a morality tale with all the ambiguity and subtlety of a topless bar. He starts with a conventional, but interesting, dilemma, that of the undercover agent who is two things at once, and the question is whether the inner is more real than the outer simply because it is inner. Vonnegut as usual attempts to cut this Gordian knot of the demands of duty with the sword of his 1960s hippy morality. And it's not such a bad approach--do no evil, don't think about the big picture, we are what we pretend to be.

So the protagonist willingly accepts his punishment as a traitor despite having the exonerating evidence at hand because he realizes he was what he pretended to be--that his pretend acts had real results. That works great--a "good" person pretended to be "bad" and so did "bad" things and hence was really bad once we use Vonnegut's miracle quotation-point-removing morality.

But if "we are what we pretend to be," is a bad person who pretends to be good actually good? If my hypocritically simulated sacrifice inspires others to sacrifice themselves for values they believe in, am I really good? Is the coward general who roars "come on brave boys, follow me!" and then doubles back once they start running a hero?

I wish it were so. But I don't think it is that simple. Although it wasn't my principal aim, I ended up being lauded as some sort of hero sacrificing myself for the truth. And that led others to make real sacrifices--and the funny thing is, this ended up wrecking my whole plan in the first place!--for things that I also believe in. Even if I set this in motion, I can't say that this makes my acts "good." I don't think Vonnegut was really up to thinking through the actual complexities of moral action in this world. It isn't simply about your "effects" it is about your self-hood, your authenticity. Campbell had that. Vonnegut didn't know how to deal with that.

One last thing--the new cover looks exactly like the logo for the Victor mousetrap. Is that intentional? Did they see Campbell as being trapped like a mouse in a larger plan he didn't understand? [42]

Editorial Review:

Kurt Vonnegut is a master of contemporary American literature. His black humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured America’s attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him as a “true artist”* with Cat’s Cradle in 1963. He is, as Graham Greene has declared, “one of the best living American writers.”

Mother Night is a daring challenge to our moral sense. American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? In this brilliant book rife with true gallows humor, Vonnegut turns black and white into a chilling shade of gray with a verdict that will haunt us all.

*The New York Times

“A great artist.”—Cincinnati Enquirer

“Vonnegut is George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer…a zany but moral mad scientist.”—Time

Journey to the Center of the Earth (Enriched Classic)

Jules Verne

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

aM ENJOYING THIS BOOK. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Saw the movie with my son, then bought the book. I'm reading him a chapter every night and he's digging it. So am I.

"Journey ..." holds up quite well! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Over the decades, I have read "Journey ..." a few times. Despite the years since it was written, it holds up quite well as a fantasy / Adventure! It is an enjoyable book and I think today's teenagers would like it.

Editorial Review:

A classic of nineteenth-century French literature, this science fiction tale delves into the depths of the Earth, and by so doing, reveals the staggeringly long history of our planet.

THIS ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:

¥ A concise introduction that gives the reader important background information

¥ A chronology of the author's life and work

¥ A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context

¥ An outline of key themes and plot points to guide the reader's own interpretations

¥ Detailed explanatory notes

¥ Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work

¥ Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction

¥ A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Dodo Press)

Jules Verne

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 185 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Wow 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I read this book many years ago and still have the book. This is a thought-provoking book, and I can honestly say that it's one of the best books that I have ever read in my whole life. There is much to be thought about in this book, and I intend to reread this book so I can appreciate it all over again. Truly, this book is one of these classics that must be preserved always, for the wonderful writing and lessons contained therein.

Editorial Review:

Jules Gabriel Verne (1828-1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre. He is best known for novels such as Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air and underwater travel before air travel and practical submarines were invented, and before practical means of space travel had been devised. He is the third most translated author in the world, according to Index Translationum. Some of his books have been made into films. Verne, along with Hugo Gernsback and H. G. Wells, is often popularly referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction". Amongst his other works are From the Earth to the Moon (1867), Five Weeks in a Balloon (1869), The Fur Country; or, Seventy Degrees North Latitude (1873), The Blockade Runners (1874), The Field of Ice (1875), The Mysterious Island (1875), Facing the Flag (1879), and An Antarctic Mystery (1899).

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: Or Pearls Before Swine

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 81 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It's hard to critique Vonnegut 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Vonnegut is one of those genius writers that you can't help but love. "Slaughterhouse 5" was my first venture into the realm of Vonnegut, but I have to say that I think I enjoyed this tale much more. Perhaps because the topic is closer to my heart, or perhaps I was able to identify more closely with the characters, I found this novel to be both thought provoking and utterly hysterical.

The short synopsis - The heir to a ridiculously large family fortune would rather spend his days helping the poor and destitute than attending the large social gatherings which his family feels he should prefer. Naturally this means that he is insane right? His family and one rather unscrupulous attorney seem to think so. They begin their plans on having him declared mentally incompetent, but he may have a trick or two up his sleeve.

I often find that I have to be in the right mood to read through a Vonnegut book, for some reason this one gripped me and I was done with it in less than 2 hours. The characters were hysterical, slightly caricaturistic and over the top, but entirely identifiable and comparable to someone we all know. This entire tale is a treatise on capitalism, money, redistribution of wealth, and the question of selflessness vs insanity. If you like Vonnegut, then this is already on your list. If you haven't encountered Vonnegut, give this book a try for an amusing look at true satire.

Editorial Review:

A rich man attempts a noble experiment with human nature. The result is an etched-in-acid portrayal of universal greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: Or Pearls Before Swine

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 81 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It's hard to critique Vonnegut 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Vonnegut is one of those genius writers that you can't help but love. "Slaughterhouse 5" was my first venture into the realm of Vonnegut, but I have to say that I think I enjoyed this tale much more. Perhaps because the topic is closer to my heart, or perhaps I was able to identify more closely with the characters, I found this novel to be both thought provoking and utterly hysterical.

The short synopsis - The heir to a ridiculously large family fortune would rather spend his days helping the poor and destitute than attending the large social gatherings which his family feels he should prefer. Naturally this means that he is insane right? His family and one rather unscrupulous attorney seem to think so. They begin their plans on having him declared mentally incompetent, but he may have a trick or two up his sleeve.

I often find that I have to be in the right mood to read through a Vonnegut book, for some reason this one gripped me and I was done with it in less than 2 hours. The characters were hysterical, slightly caricaturistic and over the top, but entirely identifiable and comparable to someone we all know. This entire tale is a treatise on capitalism, money, redistribution of wealth, and the question of selflessness vs insanity. If you like Vonnegut, then this is already on your list. If you haven't encountered Vonnegut, give this book a try for an amusing look at true satire.

Editorial Review:

A rich man attempts a noble experiment with human nature. The result is an etched-in-acid portrayal of universal greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh.