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grayyym's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
slowestreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
literacyarc's review
2.75
i fear that altho the ideas & social commentary were interesting this book was just not for me
the writing style just didn't engage me
i will say i enjoyed the parts that felt like an almost autobiographical grappling with the war, religion, the purpose of life, but it just wasn't presented in a way that didn't bore me i hate to say!
a lot of the stuff in here was rly fun to discuss with the book club, and i was a really big fan of the last chapter actually
rahhhh indianapolis mentioned đź—Łđź—Ł
the writing style just didn't engage me
i will say i enjoyed the parts that felt like an almost autobiographical grappling with the war, religion, the purpose of life, but it just wasn't presented in a way that didn't bore me i hate to say!
a lot of the stuff in here was rly fun to discuss with the book club, and i was a really big fan of the last chapter actually
rahhhh indianapolis mentioned đź—Łđź—Ł
kayarosee's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The only reason this is not a 5 is because I felt a bit bored at times even though the ideas in the book were very interesting in themselves. My favorite character arc was Boaz and how he just decides to live amongst the harmoniums because he “found me a place where I can do good without doing any harm” (p.217). This book definitely has some of my favorite quotes of all time especially with one at the end “It took us that long to realize that a purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it is to love whoever is around to be loved”(p.320). I think that is a beautiful sentiment to end a rather absurd book.
yay_nats's review against another edition
5.0
"Don't ask me why, old sport... but somebody up there likes you".
Beautiful! Absolutely loved it. This is my third Vonnegut book and it only left me impatient to start another one.
I'm sure somebody up there must like Vonnegut, too. Down here he is surely loved by many.
Beautiful! Absolutely loved it. This is my third Vonnegut book and it only left me impatient to start another one.
I'm sure somebody up there must like Vonnegut, too. Down here he is surely loved by many.
hakimbriki's review against another edition
3.0
The Sirens of Titan packs a mean punch, for such a short book. Sooooo much happens. It's pretty impressive how many brilliant ideas young Vonnegut had, and how many of them he crammed into this novel. Some may be deemed "ahead of their time", such as the chrono-synclastic infundibulum, which is one of the utmost sci-fi concepts in the history of literature. I also dug the commentary on religion and free will. Classic Vonnegut. I was less impressed by the narrative structure and some character choices. Characterization is the principal flaw of this novel, in my opinion. The Sirens of Titan is a good book regardless.
Spoiler
why would you make your protagonist a rapist?nicoleswiggard's review against another edition
4.0
(4.5 stars)
i'm not one for sci-fi, except when vonnegut does it
life may be futile and we may not have control over what happens to us, but goddamn it if it's not beautiful. (and maybe futility isn't just futility, but a sort of belonging in a grander sense, and that's something to make you feel so small and so wonderful.)
to tackle the meaning of life in a book abt martians and a guy who travels through time and space with his dog is so bold, but it's perfectly done.
if the way kurt writes about women were a little less misogynistic, it would 100% be a 5, but the casual inclusion of rape made me feel Real Gross. what can i say, i'm a radical.
---
"it took us that long to realize that a purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved."
"beautiful," he whispered.
"isn't it?" whispered Constant.
"sooner or later, Chrono believed, the magical forces of the Universe would put everything back together again.
they always did.
"would you like to know the message is that i have been carrying for almost half a million Earthling years-the message I am supposed to carry for eighteen million more years?" (....)
"a dot," he said.
"a single dot."
"greetings."
"i was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all."
i'm not one for sci-fi, except when vonnegut does it
life may be futile and we may not have control over what happens to us, but goddamn it if it's not beautiful. (and maybe futility isn't just futility, but a sort of belonging in a grander sense, and that's something to make you feel so small and so wonderful.)
to tackle the meaning of life in a book abt martians and a guy who travels through time and space with his dog is so bold, but it's perfectly done.
if the way kurt writes about women were a little less misogynistic, it would 100% be a 5, but the casual inclusion of rape made me feel Real Gross. what can i say, i'm a radical.
---
"it took us that long to realize that a purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved."
"beautiful," he whispered.
"isn't it?" whispered Constant.
"sooner or later, Chrono believed, the magical forces of the Universe would put everything back together again.
they always did.
"would you like to know the message is that i have been carrying for almost half a million Earthling years-the message I am supposed to carry for eighteen million more years?" (....)
"a dot," he said.
"a single dot."
"greetings."
"i was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all."
megelizsch's review against another edition
3.0
I love Vonnegut but this book felt weirder than any of his other ones. I liked it but I felt like I was just lost trying to figure out what was going on more than usual haha