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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
The strange ramblings of an aging author. The semi-autobiographical nature of any vonnegut book is ever present here, and anyone with an interest in the icon of 20th century counter cultural novels should read this. Its actually funny sometimes.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just a weird guy writing about other weird dudes and weird things
slow-paced
So it turns out that Vonnegut's stream-of-consciousness-type gumbledy goop isn't my cup of tea.
"Tellers of stories with ink on paper, not that they matter anymore, have been either swoopers or bashers. Swoopers write a story quickly, higgledy-piggledy, crinkum-crankum, any which way. Then they go over it again painstakingly, fixing everything that is just plain awful or doesn't work. Bashers go one sentence at a time, getting it exactly right before they go on to the next one. When they're done, they're done."
"People capable of liking some paintings or prints or whatever can rarely do so without knowing something about the artist. Again, the situation is social rather than scientific. Any work of art is half of a conversation between two human beings, and it helps a lot to know who is talking to you."
Spoiler
"Tellers of stories with ink on paper, not that they matter anymore, have been either swoopers or bashers. Swoopers write a story quickly, higgledy-piggledy, crinkum-crankum, any which way. Then they go over it again painstakingly, fixing everything that is just plain awful or doesn't work. Bashers go one sentence at a time, getting it exactly right before they go on to the next one. When they're done, they're done."
"People capable of liking some paintings or prints or whatever can rarely do so without knowing something about the artist. Again, the situation is social rather than scientific. Any work of art is half of a conversation between two human beings, and it helps a lot to know who is talking to you."
Not much of a plot. But creative and worth reading. Though I read it so quickly that I'm not sure I can say I actually read it. I think I looked at every word, which may be the same as reading, for some definition of that word.
I might rate it higher if I read it again slowly. So it goes.
(Actually I think I will rate it higher already, going from three stars to four. Maybe it'll reach five one day.)
You can tell this is at the end of his career, I think, when he'd passed the point of caring too much about people's opinions, because he makes no attempt to hide his own views. Almost makes me want to be some kind of socialist again. But then I remember that socialism involves slavery. Or something like that. I think it's a Mises Institute talking point, and who am I to question such a distinguished entity?
But, I mean, he sure is right about the extended family being important. As a review on the back of my copy proclaims, "moralizing has never been funnier."
This might be only the second Vonnegut novel I've read. I see only one other (the obvious one) that I've read in the list of his books at the front.
Speaking of titles with hyphens followed by numbers, he recommends Catch-22 to his readers. Maybe no one else finds that notable.
I think I'm so clever for ending this review the way I'm about to end it. Please don't burst my bubble.
Ting-a-ling!
I might rate it higher if I read it again slowly. So it goes.
(Actually I think I will rate it higher already, going from three stars to four. Maybe it'll reach five one day.)
You can tell this is at the end of his career, I think, when he'd passed the point of caring too much about people's opinions, because he makes no attempt to hide his own views. Almost makes me want to be some kind of socialist again. But then I remember that socialism involves slavery. Or something like that. I think it's a Mises Institute talking point, and who am I to question such a distinguished entity?
But, I mean, he sure is right about the extended family being important. As a review on the back of my copy proclaims, "moralizing has never been funnier."
This might be only the second Vonnegut novel I've read. I see only one other (the obvious one) that I've read in the list of his books at the front.
Speaking of titles with hyphens followed by numbers, he recommends Catch-22 to his readers. Maybe no one else finds that notable.
I think I'm so clever for ending this review the way I'm about to end it. Please don't burst my bubble.
Ting-a-ling!
DNF'd. I didn't WANT to DNF it... but I just couldn't be bothered to finish it either. I enjoyed Slaughterhouse-Five, I probably would have enjoyed "Timequake One" even as morbid and depressing as it promised to be, and there's nothing in particular about this that is turning me off from it -- but there's nothing that's making me want to keep going. Maybe I'm just sulking over the lost promise ot Timequake One.
It's Vonnegut all over the place, at least. That's not the problem.
It's Vonnegut all over the place, at least. That's not the problem.
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"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: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, War
Minor: Slavery
If you're a big Vonnegut fan, this is a must-read. But it should probably also come last chronologically.
