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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
An incredibly well-written, funny, touching antiwar novel. Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time which allows the reader to visit different points in his life that flow in a non-linear narrative that is fascinating to read. The amount of times I bounced from "Ugh, how terrible" to guffawing was uncountable.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The first two chapters were boring to me. But then the book kept getting better, with a few boring prose here and there. The story was good from the start, but I struggled with the writing a lot. The constant jumping around in time, although justified, was jarring and frustrating at times.
Maybe a second read, after a few years, would be good. But for now, I cannot appreciate this book's beauty to its full extent because of the writing style. Reading some online discourse around it helped me value this work more.
Maybe a second read, after a few years, would be good. But for now, I cannot appreciate this book's beauty to its full extent because of the writing style. Reading some online discourse around it helped me value this work more.
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really, really liked this one. Easily the funniest Vonnegut I’ve read so far, but also the most beautiful, even though Sirens had some really competitive parts (the harmoniums specifically). My favorite of all of these was this:
“And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all the people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.
So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes.
People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.
I’ve finished my war book now. The next one I write is going to be fun.
This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt.”
I loved the unique structure of this, how he just made what would normally be a prologue/preface into the first chapter, and how Kurt himself was both a self-insert but also an explicit side character (especially when shitting himself, lmao).
I thought the science fiction in this was done really well too. I know some people don’t like this, but I enjoyed that it was kind of ambiguous as to whether the book is actually science fiction or rather just an expression of Billy’s PTSD. I thought it added a neat layer.
Unfortunately, this is a 4.5 rounded down to a 4 bc like with all other Vonnegut books his female characters are… lacking, at best.
“And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all the people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.
So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes.
People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.
I’ve finished my war book now. The next one I write is going to be fun.
This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt.”
I loved the unique structure of this, how he just made what would normally be a prologue/preface into the first chapter, and how Kurt himself was both a self-insert but also an explicit side character (especially when shitting himself, lmao).
I thought the science fiction in this was done really well too. I know some people don’t like this, but I enjoyed that it was kind of ambiguous as to whether the book is actually science fiction or rather just an expression of Billy’s PTSD. I thought it added a neat layer.
Unfortunately, this is a 4.5 rounded down to a 4 bc like with all other Vonnegut books his female characters are… lacking, at best.
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ik wist dat het eerste boek dat ik las na A Little Life sowieso een soort van teleurstelling ging zijn omdat het niet even goed was, en zo geschiedde: ik heb wat gemixte gevoelens over dit boek, het is origineel, maar mist precies ook wat inhoud.
Er gaat ook een ster vanaf door de slechte vertaling, ooit wil ik er me wel eens aan zetten het eens in het Engels te lezen.
Ondanks de lage rating toch echt een boek dat je eens gelezen moet hebben!
Er gaat ook een ster vanaf door de slechte vertaling, ooit wil ik er me wel eens aan zetten het eens in het Engels te lezen.
Ondanks de lage rating toch echt een boek dat je eens gelezen moet hebben!
i finished it the day after i bought it in my flight up to ireland. such a strange book but i loved it