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caleb_tankersley's review against another edition
5.0
Charming and poignant. No writer but Vonnegut pulls on my tear ducts, funny bone, and conscience all at the same time. This is my new Bible.
titannineteen's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic. I try to take an author's books at face value and do not ascribe any tags to the author, wondering about their politics or beliefs. It is a pleasant surprise to find out Vonnegut not only wrote some of my most favorite books but also held a lot of the same beliefs I did about the world. Fast read and had me giggling!
heim_weh's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Kurt is so funny. I didn’t expect this when I opened it. There are many instances where I had to put a hand to my house to stop a laughing fit. It’s a reflection of little less on he gathered along life. I can’t get over how he simply replied ‘Hush’ to his wife’s question of why he didn’t get more than one envelopes. I don’t know why but that single word response really ticked me.
biblioliv's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably one of my favourite books of all time. It's hard to compare it to other novels I've read because it is not fiction, and yet I wouldn't call it non-fiction or even strictly autobiographical either. In fact, it seems to me like Vonnegut was trying to, at the end of his life, write a biography of the world -and humanity- as it is today. Given that that was always the driving force behind all of Vonnegut's works, it really makes this book ever more poignant in that this is his one last shot at summarizing what it is humanity is about and the big WHY, if that is even possible.
Of course, as a veteran of war and of decades of in-depth study into human nature and history, not to mention someone who has lived through Hiroshima, the Cold War, The Holocaust, The Civil Rights battle, Rwanda, 9/11, and the birth and growth of the technological age, Kurt Vonnegut has seen enough to turn him into a bitter, cynical, nihilistic old man longing for death, and in the book we do see a lot of vitriol and bitterness about the state of the world we live in, and the people that walk that Earth, but what prevails in the book, is a prevailing sense hope, optimism, and a belief in human capacity for goodness.
I've heard of many people who read this book, and have come away depressed or angry at the bitterness Vonnegut expresses in the book, but NEVER has reading a book made me feel so hopeful. Readers who call this book pessimistic or fatalistic are completely missing the point. None of the events relayed by Vonnegut in the book are untrue. Humanity has seen and been responsible for countless tragedies and unimaginable cruelty, and for a book to deny that history is just false. Vonnegut presents us with the hard truth that we must live with ourselves as a race even after all of this disappointment and tragedy, but most importantly, after everything, he still believes we are worth it. He believes we have REASON to go on living and the enough potential for good that we are worthy of love and a future.
This book has saved my life and changed my mind for the better, and I will never forget a single word of this powerful book.
Of course, as a veteran of war and of decades of in-depth study into human nature and history, not to mention someone who has lived through Hiroshima, the Cold War, The Holocaust, The Civil Rights battle, Rwanda, 9/11, and the birth and growth of the technological age, Kurt Vonnegut has seen enough to turn him into a bitter, cynical, nihilistic old man longing for death, and in the book we do see a lot of vitriol and bitterness about the state of the world we live in, and the people that walk that Earth, but what prevails in the book, is a prevailing sense hope, optimism, and a belief in human capacity for goodness.
I've heard of many people who read this book, and have come away depressed or angry at the bitterness Vonnegut expresses in the book, but NEVER has reading a book made me feel so hopeful. Readers who call this book pessimistic or fatalistic are completely missing the point. None of the events relayed by Vonnegut in the book are untrue. Humanity has seen and been responsible for countless tragedies and unimaginable cruelty, and for a book to deny that history is just false. Vonnegut presents us with the hard truth that we must live with ourselves as a race even after all of this disappointment and tragedy, but most importantly, after everything, he still believes we are worth it. He believes we have REASON to go on living and the enough potential for good that we are worthy of love and a future.
This book has saved my life and changed my mind for the better, and I will never forget a single word of this powerful book.
marcquesh32's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
3.0
No new ideas here, but sort of like comfort-food for a Vonnegut fan.
james_j_igoe's review against another edition
5.0
Insightful, Witty, and Warm
From a writer with such a dark sense of humor, these essays remind us of our humanity, Kurt’s humanity, often funny, frequently touching.
From a writer with such a dark sense of humor, these essays remind us of our humanity, Kurt’s humanity, often funny, frequently touching.