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dragon_lord's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
I was required to read this for a class project, and I can say with confidence that I will never again read a Vonnegut book. This book has no plot to speak of, and is a near-nonsensical collection of ramblings from a man I am increasingly convinced was only one minor tragedy away from committing mass murder. It is filled to the brim with problematic ideas, including a truckload of unnecessary comments on women’s bodies and appearances, several paragraphs devoted to literal racism (usually while Vonnegut talks about how totally not racist he is), a whole chapter ranting about how women belong in the kitchen, and a light sprinkling of transphobia and ableism throughout. It reads like a collection of Tumblr sh*tposts combined with a teenager’s self-insert fanfic from 2007. A lot of the book gives the same vibe as a first grader discovering a new word, so they have to put it in every paragraph they write, only instead of that word being ‘chipper’, it’s ‘ejaculate’ or ‘birth canal’. I honestly had a better time reading My Immortal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Racism, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Sexual violence, and War
Minor: Ableism, Grief, Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Transphobia, and Homophobia
owenwilsonbaby's review
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"He was talking about simple occasions, not great victories: maybe drinking lemonade on a hot afternoon in the shade, or smelling the aroma of a nearby bakery, or fishing and not caring if we catch anything or not, or hearing somebody all alone playing a piano really well in the house next door. Uncle Alex urged me to say this out loud during such epiphanies: 'If this isn't nice, what is?'"
I was stuck between giving this a 3.75 and a 4 rating. Personally, for me, parts of this book feel like a 4; others feel much lower. Still, Timequake is one of my dad's favourite novels and the parts that I enjoyed, I really enjoyed.
The off-hand way that race and the AIDs crisis were mentioned was a bit disappointing but not totally unexpected for this novel, its author and context. Also, I don't know. Maybe Vonnegut wouldn't be best-placed to handle these subjects. Maybe I'm holding this novel to standards that shouldn't be applied or don't apply to it.
It was a really straightforward read and I actually enjoyed the mixture of fact and fiction. You could tell he struggled with editing the original Timequake One and I think this was a worthy result of that creative process.
I haven't been feeling great recently. My dad has been reading me passages from this book. Maybe he knows I'm down! Maybe he's good at guessing. Maybe he just wants to share his favourite book with me. Regardless, I do think it has helped me feel better. Something about Vonnegut's writing here, perhaps unintentional or as a less related consequence of him consciously writing his final book, emphasises how radical it can be to stay alive and find reasons to stay alive when the world feels pretty terrible.
As Kurt himself says - "What a brother! What a language."
I was stuck between giving this a 3.75 and a 4 rating. Personally, for me, parts of this book feel like a 4; others feel much lower. Still, Timequake is one of my dad's favourite novels and the parts that I enjoyed, I really enjoyed.
The off-hand way that race and the AIDs crisis were mentioned was a bit disappointing but not totally unexpected for this novel, its author and context. Also, I don't know. Maybe Vonnegut wouldn't be best-placed to handle these subjects. Maybe I'm holding this novel to standards that shouldn't be applied or don't apply to it.
It was a really straightforward read and I actually enjoyed the mixture of fact and fiction. You could tell he struggled with editing the original Timequake One and I think this was a worthy result of that creative process.
I haven't been feeling great recently. My dad has been reading me passages from this book. Maybe he knows I'm down! Maybe he's good at guessing. Maybe he just wants to share his favourite book with me. Regardless, I do think it has helped me feel better. Something about Vonnegut's writing here, perhaps unintentional or as a less related consequence of him consciously writing his final book, emphasises how radical it can be to stay alive and find reasons to stay alive when the world feels pretty terrible.
As Kurt himself says - "What a brother! What a language."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, War, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Grief, Death, Car accident, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Rape, Violence, Bullying, and Suicide
Minor: Slavery
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