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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
This book is perfect. In the sense that it reads exactly as a novel written by the fictional Kilgore Trout would read. It has shadows of Vonnegut especially his wit and penchant for random irrelevant historical details, and shadows of his semi-biographical counterpart the unknown author who wrote dozens of profound novels designed to be serialized in porn magazines. Definitely worth reading for any fan of Vonnegut.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wish this had only been the first in a series of novels by "Kilgore Trout."
Un romanzo strano, ma decisamente interessante: domande filosofiche fondamentali intervallate da un senso un po' perverso che alleggerisce i pensieri pesanti sul senso della vita.
Perchè no?
Perchè no?
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's awful, absolutely awful. Needlessly crass and vulgar and sexist and for no real reason. There's no commentary. But Kilgore Trout's books were supposed to be awful, so it certainly is canon in that sense. I'm keeping my copy simply because it completes my Vonnegut collection but I couldn't recommend this to anyone.
Cute, stereotypical sci-fi that doesn't try too hard. I'm keeping it for the kitschy Vonnegut memories.
Venus on The Half-Shell by Kilgore Trout (actually written by Philip Jose Farmer from characters and ideas by Kurt Vonnegut) is a mixed bag of imaginative ideas, pulp sci-fi parody, and sophomoric humor (part of the parody I presume). Reminiscent of Hitchiker's Guide to The Galaxy (which was written later), it follows the lone survivor of an Earth-wide deluge, as he explores the universe in a Chinese spaceship with a faithful dog and owl he rescued from the flood.
What I liked about the book is that they touch on several different alien worlds with very creative, imaginative aliens and cultures. In one place Farmer seems to pay homage my favorite author Robert Heinlein's "Coventry:"
"The Free Land, it turned out, was a territory about the size of Texas. It consists mostly of mountains and heavy forests, wild animals and wilder humans. Felons, instead of being put in jail, were sent into it and told not to come back. Also, any citizen who didn't like his government or the society he lived in was free to go there. Sometimes he was asked, not very politely, to emigrate there."
On the other hand, gratuitous raunchy humor, phallic symbols, or descriptions of alien sexuality every few pages might annoy or offend many readers; apparently this was Farmer's characterization of the fictional author Kilgore Trout.
On balance I enjoyed it because it was imaginative, sometimes funny, and readable (action and dialog flow).
What I liked about the book is that they touch on several different alien worlds with very creative, imaginative aliens and cultures. In one place Farmer seems to pay homage my favorite author Robert Heinlein's "Coventry:"
"The Free Land, it turned out, was a territory about the size of Texas. It consists mostly of mountains and heavy forests, wild animals and wilder humans. Felons, instead of being put in jail, were sent into it and told not to come back. Also, any citizen who didn't like his government or the society he lived in was free to go there. Sometimes he was asked, not very politely, to emigrate there."
On the other hand, gratuitous raunchy humor, phallic symbols, or descriptions of alien sexuality every few pages might annoy or offend many readers; apparently this was Farmer's characterization of the fictional author Kilgore Trout.
On balance I enjoyed it because it was imaginative, sometimes funny, and readable (action and dialog flow).
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I can’t say I didn’t somewhat enjoy this journey as pulpy sci-fi I read across several public transit journeys and beers waiting for friends at bars , but it’s no Vonnegut, and even on its own merits, the ending is pretty unsatisfying. Is that on purpose? Easy to say yes after the fact but also it might just be hard to come up with an answer to life the universe and everything.