Vonnegut Jr., Kurt Books

Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 708 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden.

Don't let the ease of reading fool you--Vonnegut's isn't a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters..." Slaughterhouse-Five (taken from the name of the building where the POWs were held) is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945. Like Catch- 22, it fashions the author's experiences in the Second World War into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Slaughterhouse-Five boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in Vonnegut's other works, but the book's basis in rock-hard, tragic fact gives it a unique poignancy--and humor.

Cat's Cradle

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 375 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The master of Cat's Cradle 4 out of 5 stars.
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The cat's cradle is an extraordinary tale about the extent of human limitations when incompatibilities exist between the goals of science and humanity. Vonnegut created another masterpiece that describes the dangers of human science when mixed with their desires and lewdness.

John, the narrator, is writing a book about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and in the process of his research discovers the life of Felix Hoenikker, the Nobel prize-winning physicist and one of the creators of the atomic bomb.

Similar to walking through a hilarious human maze, we are taken to San Lorenzo; a town were Hoenikker's two sons and daughter live and ignorantly use their father's last invention causing another world wide human disaster.
Vonnegut brilliantly shows human limitations and foolishness with his description of an imaginary religion called Bokononism, which originated and blossomed in San Lorenzo.

Vonnegut, who survived the cruelty of war and faced life's emptiness, is one of the few writers who can laugh at the human inability to reconcile the inherent conflict of science's power and capabilities with the needs and limitations of humanity.

Editorial Review:

Cat's Cradle, one of Vonnegut's most entertaining novels, is filled with scientists and G-men and even ordinary folks caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature. At one time, this novel could probably be found on the bookshelf of every college kid in America; it's still a fabulous read and a great place to start if you're young enough to have missed the first Vonnegut craze.

Breakfast of Champions

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 253 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane." So reads the tombstone of downtrodden writer Kilgore Trout, but we have no doubt who's really talking: his alter ego Kurt Vonnegut. Health versus sickness, humanity versus inhumanity--both sets of ideas bounce through this challenging and funny book. As with the rest of Vonnegut's pure fantasy, it lacks the shimmering, fact-fueled rage that illuminates Slaughterhouse-Five. At the same time, that makes this book perhaps more enjoyable to read.

Breakfast of Champions is a slippery, lucid, bleakly humorous jaunt through (sick? inhumane?) America circa 1973, with Vonnegut acting as our Virgil-like companion. The book follows its main character, auto-dealing solid-citizen Dwayne Hoover, down into madness, a condition brought on by the work of the aforementioned Kilgore Trout. As Dwayne cracks, then crumbles, Breakfast of Champions coolly shows the effects his dementia has on the web of characters surrounding him. It's not much of a plot, but it's enough for Vonnegut to air unique opinions on America, sex, war, love, and all of his other pet topics--you know, the only ones that really count.

Mother Night

Kurt Vonnegut

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

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

The Sirens of Titan

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 157 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

amazing 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

i loved it! it makes you re-think your religion and some of your morals. because somehow, you end up sympathizing with an immoral character like malachi!

The Meaning of Life.... 5 out of 5 stars.
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How does one even begin describing this book? Can you even sum up the plot and do it justice? Talk of Malachi and his adventures/mishaps or Beatrice... Do we follow Roomford as he appears and disappears as the earth rotates? Do we talk about the invasion from Mars? Or the years spent on Mercury? How do we discuss the plot when in reality the plot is only a vehicle to get the reader to the destination, the realization that Vonnegut is trying to make us come to. The best summary that I can come up with is that we follow Malachi/Unk through the end of his life... starting from his receiving a prediction that he would go to Mars, Mercury, back to Earth, and then to Titan... and ending at the end of his life and his journeys.

So what is this book even about? Well there's religion, and the sense that God is not responsible for us, or our futures, rather we survive in a series of random accidents. Then there is the meaning of life, and the futility of the search for it. We have the satirical take on family, business, politics, and war. Then we have the long and involved satire of our purpose, and being used as humans toward a purpose that is both completely beyond our mental grasp, and not something that we would be happy to know about in the first place.

I personally cannot stand sci-fi so I put off reading this book for quite a while, even through I LOVE Vonnegut. In the end, the Sci-Fi aspect did not bother me because Vonnegut never spent all that much energy on that aspect. Sure they were on Mars, and Mercury, and Titan... and there was an alien life form or two and some spaceships... but as with the plot, the sci-fi aspect of this book is merely a vehicle to drive the reader to the proper conclusions. People are often upset that one cannot classify a Vonnegut book into any one genre; I find that this is because he is a philosopher who is wiling to take you to any extreme in order to open your eyes to what he views as reality. And what is Vonnegut's reality? Simple - Life is a series of accidents, both good and bad. The Creator is off doing what he does best - Creating, not guiding our every movement and desire. And finally, that we shouldn't put too much stock into our purpose, instead focus on just being nice, and being happy in the life that you have.

Even if you are not a fan of Sci-Fi I highly recommend this book. True it is not Vonnegut's seminal work, nor is it his most humorous, but it has so many important themes running through it that it should be required reading in school. The number of discussions that can be had after reading and truly dissecting this book are amazing. The Simple line stated by Boaz on Mercury when he makes his decision, the true purpose of the Martian attack, the over all meaning of life. The ending of this book is a truly joyous, utterly ridiculous and yet so profoundly meaningful revelation that the reader cannot help but sit back and shake their head in both disbelief and astonishment, both appalled and amused, and most of all, completely unable to keep from wondering... is that what it really IS all about? Something so..... Now I don't want to spoil it for you!

Though this book is only just over 300 pages, it took me longer than normal to read it, because you really don't want to skim. The language is brilliant, and the satire is sometimes so deeply laced into what is being said that it can be easy to miss if you aren't paying attention. As I said before, I highly recommend this book.

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 4 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.
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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.

Player Piano

Kurt Vonnegut

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

Convential debut - not Vonnegut's best, but still worth reading 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Vonnegut's debut novel, published in 1952, is a little constrained. There are hints of Vonnegut's sardonic wit, wild imagination, and unconventional writing style, but only hints. Unlike virtually all of Vonnegut's other novels, Player Piano tells its story in a linier fashion. It starts at the beginning and ends at the end. There's nothing really wrong with that, but for fans of the author, accustomed to Vonnegut's eccentric voice, it feels a little too conventional.

Vonnegut is a humanitarian and the message of Player Piano is that people need to have a sense of purpose, and that if you take that away from them - their lives will be empty. Throughout the novel, a leader from another country tours the cities of the United States and having no similar word in his own language, confuses `civilians' for `slaves'. The message of course, is that the civilians, in this machine dominated world, are in-fact slaves.

Similarities between this novel and Brave New World are inevitable, as both novels explore the relationship between technology and happiness, and the role class structure plays in our society. In both Player Piano and Brave New World, the protagonist is unfulfilled by the trappings of the privileged class and longs for something `real'. Player Piano is arguably more hopeful than Brave New World (and certainly 1984) suggesting that people will band together to fight for their freedom, however futile, even if it means that they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes again.

Player Piano is admittedly dated. It is evident from this novel, and others of the era, that people were wary of the advent of computers and the proliferation of machines and technology. As for predicting the future, neither Brave New World nor Player Piano (nor 1984 for that matter) proved to be a reliable crystal ball. These novels are far more reflective of the times they were written and the author's commentary on those times, than of any actual or likely future.

Player Piano is far from Vonnegut's best. Cat's Cradle and Slaughter House Five are two of the best novels ever written and there are close to a half dozen other Vonnegut novels (he wrote 14) I would recommend before Player Piano, but it's still worth reading.

3 ½ stars (almost four).

Editorial Review:

Vonnegut’s first novel spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a super computer and run completely by machines. Paul’s rebellion is vintage Vonnegut–wildly funny, deadly serious, and terrifyingly close to reality.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 80 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.

Galapagos (Delta Fiction)

Kurt Vonnegut

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Total reviews: 114 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

“Beautiful…provocative, arresting reading.”–USA Today

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.”

Galápagos takes the reader back one million years, to a.d. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galápagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave new, and totally different human race. Here, America’s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry–and all that is worth saving.

“Vonnegut is a postmodern Mark Twain... Galápagos is a madcap genealogical adventure.”–The New York Times Book Review

* The New York Times

Bluebeard (Delta Fiction)

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 66 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Thrill for both my Meat and Soul! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

While Breakfast of Champions remains my all time favorite, Bluebeard ranks a close second. The story is a witty and poignant autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, a WWII vet and artist friend of Abstract Expressionists like Jackson Pollock. In a way that it seems only Vonnegut can, sad, depressing characters are interwoven with a satirical wit that produces a cunning commentary on American culture. Like most Vonnegut books, whenever I attempt to convey the plot to a friend (who is unaware of his writing style) they say something like, "oh - that sounds so depressing!" Yet, Vonnegut writes with a trenchant wit that digs below just the character's emotions, to the culture and influences that create such actions.

The most intriguing aspect of the plot is Vonnegut's satire on various art movements, as well as the art market. Rabo was initially trained by a horribly haughty painter who painted in a realist style. Upon returning home after WWII, Rabo rejected his tutor's style and became friends with Jackson Pollock and Terry Kitchen (who I had never heard of before, but googled and found that he was a fluxus artist-?). His actions caused his marriage to disintegrate and his two sons to disown him.

Similar to his personal life, his paintings, made out of Sateen Dura Luxe, also disintegrate and fall apart, thus destroying his artistic career. His paintings were solid layers of the Dura Luxe on canvas, with small pieces of tape added. While his career and personal life were in shambles, Rabo ended up a very wealthy man. In return for money, his artist friends gave him many of their paintings (which they considered worthless at the time). His enormous collection of Abstract Expressionist paintings was the largest in the world. At the time he is writing his autobiography, Rabo is an old man living alone in a big, empty house in Long Island. While he has given up painting, he has one big secret locked in the potatoe barn behind his house.

What makes the Abstract Expressionist works so famous and revered? While Rabo's abstract work, which he clearly has no attachment to, is shown in museums and art history classes, he admits that his most beloved painting will be adored only by the laymen and "common people." Created in a realistic style he says - "It isnt a painting at all! It's a tourist attraction! It's a World's Fair! It's a Disneyland!" Bluebeard satirizes this adoration of "famous" works, forcing you to question and ponder the various definitions of art, and how one work becomes more famous than another.

I absolutely loved when Rabo would talk about his "meat" vesus his soul. "My soul didn't know what kind of picture to paint, but my meat sure did."

Editorial Review:

An old man recounts his past to a voluptuous widow, revealing man's compulsion to create and destroy what he loves.