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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Let's see, well, I love Player Piano because it's sheer, beautiful Vonnegut.
I have trouble with Player Piano because it's so obviously Vonnegut.
Obviously an explanation is in order. It's hard not to like V's incisive satires; his wry explanations; his brilliant, almost timeless, analyses. Player Piano is no exception, and despite being his first (and in my opinion most true to traditional novelistic style) and his longest (I don't really know if it is or not, I haven't counted pages, it just feels the longest) it still retains that V. swagger, the gleam in the eye of the storyteller who is just daring you to disagree, the delight in mischief, the wonderfully idiosyncratic perspective on America.
And, well, this is where I run into trouble. Because V. is a staunch middle-class supporter, equally suspicious of the lower classes as he is of the elite; content with nothing other than the eventual reification of the state, Vonnegut cannot seriously contemplate any real change in his conception of traditional mid-Western American values. There's a fight brewing here, I know, bear in mind this is only my opinion, albeit backed up by extensive reading of not only Vonnegut, but also lit.crit. on Vonnegut; which, as this book would hasten to remark, is part of what Vonnegut dislikes - the intellectual elite, the supposedly corrupt, morally bankrupt aristocracy of education. Well, alright.
So I like this book, yes, very much. And it's an important book to read, I feel, V.'s take on technology is wary and wry. His suspicions are absolutely spot on - but I have my suspicions of Vonnegut too.
Nevertheless, as Zizek says, "Enjoy!"
I have trouble with Player Piano because it's so obviously Vonnegut.
Obviously an explanation is in order. It's hard not to like V's incisive satires; his wry explanations; his brilliant, almost timeless, analyses. Player Piano is no exception, and despite being his first (and in my opinion most true to traditional novelistic style) and his longest (I don't really know if it is or not, I haven't counted pages, it just feels the longest) it still retains that V. swagger, the gleam in the eye of the storyteller who is just daring you to disagree, the delight in mischief, the wonderfully idiosyncratic perspective on America.
And, well, this is where I run into trouble. Because V. is a staunch middle-class supporter, equally suspicious of the lower classes as he is of the elite; content with nothing other than the eventual reification of the state, Vonnegut cannot seriously contemplate any real change in his conception of traditional mid-Western American values. There's a fight brewing here, I know, bear in mind this is only my opinion, albeit backed up by extensive reading of not only Vonnegut, but also lit.crit. on Vonnegut; which, as this book would hasten to remark, is part of what Vonnegut dislikes - the intellectual elite, the supposedly corrupt, morally bankrupt aristocracy of education. Well, alright.
So I like this book, yes, very much. And it's an important book to read, I feel, V.'s take on technology is wary and wry. His suspicions are absolutely spot on - but I have my suspicions of Vonnegut too.
Nevertheless, as Zizek says, "Enjoy!"
As much as I love Vonnegut, this book was verrrrry slow moving and the characters were dull at times. I can definitely see Kurt's improvement in writing from this to Slaughterhouse Five.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Very timely & can be applied to current situation with AI
For, like, 70 percent of this book, I wondered if I would see glimpses of the Kurt Vonnegut that would come to be. This being his first novel, it started off predictably tame. That last 30 percent, it all went off the rails and protagonist Paul Proteus paid the price for being a main character of a Vonnegut creation.
The story is all about man's dependence on machines and what happens when we rely on them to the point where humans become inadequate. Man needs to feel valuable and to use his hands to create. If not, what are we here for?
This book must have been semi-groundbreaking at the time, but it's funny to read it 60 years after the fact. The technology has changed, but the threat of phasing out skin and blood is still sort of relevant. Or not. It seems like we have bigger problems these days.
The story is all about man's dependence on machines and what happens when we rely on them to the point where humans become inadequate. Man needs to feel valuable and to use his hands to create. If not, what are we here for?
This book must have been semi-groundbreaking at the time, but it's funny to read it 60 years after the fact. The technology has changed, but the threat of phasing out skin and blood is still sort of relevant. Or not. It seems like we have bigger problems these days.
I felt like it was slow to get to the meat, but once it did it took off!!
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
incredibly timely.
town going thru post ww2 industrialization, in which daily life has been automated for the residents by machines, putting laborers out of jobs, leading to a total division of class between wealthy engineers and the skilled laborers that now have no work and no money. A bit prescient for 1952. Honestly one of the best stories with a surprisingly refreshing viewpoint of the moral importance of proletariat mobilizing and fighting with arms against what’s basically a fascist technostate. If only there was an organized political party in the west with any backbone that cared more about ppl they’re supposed to serve as opposed their own pockets. Oh well.
town going thru post ww2 industrialization, in which daily life has been automated for the residents by machines, putting laborers out of jobs, leading to a total division of class between wealthy engineers and the skilled laborers that now have no work and no money. A bit prescient for 1952. Honestly one of the best stories with a surprisingly refreshing viewpoint of the moral importance of proletariat mobilizing and fighting with arms against what’s basically a fascist technostate. If only there was an organized political party in the west with any backbone that cared more about ppl they’re supposed to serve as opposed their own pockets. Oh well.