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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
I didn't really understand what was happening in this book until halfway through. My best guess of the point is that it is a post-modern memoir/short-story dump. There are over 50 chapters which average just a few pages, so it is easy to pick up and put down, but it is hard to follow. The most complicated part is that the entire thing is a seamless blend of fact and fiction.
Since Vonnegut uses his favorite fake author, Kilgore Trout, I probably should have read "Breakfast of Champions" before this one, but that's ok. It's next.
Since Vonnegut uses his favorite fake author, Kilgore Trout, I probably should have read "Breakfast of Champions" before this one, but that's ok. It's next.
"If this isn't nice, what is?"
"You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do."
"You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do."
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
I didn't need a timequake to teach me being alive was a crock of shit. I already knew that from my childhood and crucifixes and history books.
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
Probably not the best choice for my first Vonnegut. Both because of its premise and when he wrote it, feels like a reflection on his career and place in culture rather than the character study or political allegory I expected from the description. Perhaps because of where the time quake ends, it feels like he could say something about the turn of millennium and even illuminate something about 2001, but this doesn’t really do that. Because nothing can be changed in the repeated times, nothing really feels like it’s learned and he sort of goes in a more religious and put there turn than something that feels more grounded in the last 25 years of earth-shifting events. Still, I suppose it speaks to the limits of the human imagination that he couldn’t have come up with anything as unbelievable as where the US went from 2001 on.
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"You were sick, but now you're well again, and there is work to do."
It is February 13 2001 and unknown to everyone the universe is about to send them back 10 years. This timequake takes people back in time with all the knowledge they had over the last 10 years but they are unable to change anything. They are stuck on autopilot having to relive for better or worse every event in their lives.
The story is told by Kurt and his fictional alter ego Kilgore Trout as they live through this event. There is next to no plot but rather chapters reflecting on Kurt's life. Being the last novel he wrote it is filled with his thoughts on life. What makes a life worth living, why do people give up on life, regrets and the stranglehold they put people in, as well as his views on life as it is in the late 90s. It is a very personal novel with him reflecting on his on life and death as well as his brother's and the rest of his family.
He talks a lot about how we are becoming more disconnected and isolated as a society even though we may be more connected than ever. How this then effects us individually and as a culture. He discusses the effects of war or in his words "societies attempt at committing suicide" how we can invent ways to kill millions and then give those same people peace medals. How even when you think you are the best at something there is always someone better. Or even the effect parents have on their kids for better or for worse.
There are times when it feels very old man yelling at clouds, but with Kurt's dark humor thrown in. It is certainly not a book to read unless you are a fan of Vonnegut's because of the structure and personal nature, but nonetheless a very good book.
It is February 13 2001 and unknown to everyone the universe is about to send them back 10 years. This timequake takes people back in time with all the knowledge they had over the last 10 years but they are unable to change anything. They are stuck on autopilot having to relive for better or worse every event in their lives.
The story is told by Kurt and his fictional alter ego Kilgore Trout as they live through this event. There is next to no plot but rather chapters reflecting on Kurt's life. Being the last novel he wrote it is filled with his thoughts on life. What makes a life worth living, why do people give up on life, regrets and the stranglehold they put people in, as well as his views on life as it is in the late 90s. It is a very personal novel with him reflecting on his on life and death as well as his brother's and the rest of his family.
He talks a lot about how we are becoming more disconnected and isolated as a society even though we may be more connected than ever. How this then effects us individually and as a culture. He discusses the effects of war or in his words "societies attempt at committing suicide" how we can invent ways to kill millions and then give those same people peace medals. How even when you think you are the best at something there is always someone better. Or even the effect parents have on their kids for better or for worse.
There are times when it feels very old man yelling at clouds, but with Kurt's dark humor thrown in. It is certainly not a book to read unless you are a fan of Vonnegut's because of the structure and personal nature, but nonetheless a very good book.
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated