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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
DNF. I just couldn’t force myself through the rest of this one. I found his style to be grating and two dimensional throughout the whole book, making it impossible for me to connect with any plot or characters. Also, I’m sure the content of this book was radical and much-needed at the time of publishing, but at this point I’m sick of hearing about all the terrible ways our world works.
I enjoyed slaughterhouse five much more, and maybe that’s because it’s just more famous. But I think with that book, Vonnegut’s narrative voice actually serves a purpose. His flat, matter-of-fact tone contrasts the horrors of war very well. It also makes a statement against media sensationalizing war. But for this book, it didn’t seem like there was any real reason to write that way. To me, it felt lazy and scatter brained.
An aspect of the book I did enjoy was how a poor, radical artist was in a sense sponsored by a megarich guy on the opposite end of the socioeconomic hierarchy. This same dynamic happens all the time in the ‘fine-art world’ and it’s so ironic. Maybe he would have delved further into this relationship later in the book, but I wasn’t willing to wait to find out.
I enjoyed slaughterhouse five much more, and maybe that’s because it’s just more famous. But I think with that book, Vonnegut’s narrative voice actually serves a purpose. His flat, matter-of-fact tone contrasts the horrors of war very well. It also makes a statement against media sensationalizing war. But for this book, it didn’t seem like there was any real reason to write that way. To me, it felt lazy and scatter brained.
An aspect of the book I did enjoy was how a poor, radical artist was in a sense sponsored by a megarich guy on the opposite end of the socioeconomic hierarchy. This same dynamic happens all the time in the ‘fine-art world’ and it’s so ironic. Maybe he would have delved further into this relationship later in the book, but I wasn’t willing to wait to find out.
Another re-read--still a strange and fascinating book. At times funny, sad, angry, bitter, ironic, absurd, troubled and troubling. It's provocative and weird, puzzling, deceptively structured and subversive. "And so on." Or maybe not. It's hard to tell with Kurt Vonnegut. Anyway, I'll definitely read it again (and again). Here are some of the highlights I made this time around:
I think I am trying to make my head as empty as it was when I was born onto this damaged planet fifty years ago.
---
I have no culture, no humane harmony in my brains. I can’t live without a culture anymore.
---
The chief weapon of the sea pirates, however, was their capacity to astonish. Nobody else could believe, until it was much too late, how heartless and greedy they were.
---
Here is all she had to say about death: “Oh my, oh my.”
---
Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a small cloud of telepathic butterflies, and one of these brushed the cheek of Dwayne Hoover, nine miles away. Dwayne heard a tired voice from somewhere behind his head, even though no one was back there. It said this to Dwayne: “Oh my, oh my.”
---
Trout plundered his pockets for a pen or pencil. He had an answer to the question. But he had nothing to write with, not even a burnt match. So he left the question unanswered, but here is what he would have written, if he had found anything to write with: To be the eyes and ears and conscience of the Creator of the Universe, you fool.
---
“I can’t tell if you’re serious or not,” said the driver. “I won’t know myself until I find out whether life is serious or not,” said Trout. “It’s dangerous, I know, and it can hurt a lot. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s serious, too.”
---
Once I understood what was making America such a dangerous, unhappy nation of people who had nothing to do with real life, I resolved to shun storytelling. I would write about life. Every person would be exactly as important as any other. All facts would also be given equal weightiness. Nothing would be left out. Let others bring order to chaos. I would bring chaos to order, instead, which I think I have done.
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
I try so hard to enjoy Vonnegut. I mean, I have 2 degrees in English so you would think he would be one of my favorite authors, right? No. Absolutely not. And it makes me feel like a fraud and an intellectual failure. I’m sure Vonnegut would enjoy that. I tried really hard to like this book. I really did. I forced myself to read it and digest the words and to come to an understanding with why he uses such offensive language to describe women and African-Americans. I realize part of it is the time in which it was written and part of it is his, sad, pathetic, aggressive, white man, sense of humor. I guess at least now I can say I’ve read the book if it ever comes up in polite conversation. But if polite conversation is going to involve discussing Vonnegut then I am pretty sure I am going to avoid polite conversation at all costs.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The start of this book was very strong, but dwindled quickly by the 40% mark. I wanted to enjoy it so much more than I did, but felt like the entire middle was unnecessary and quite frankly boring to read. I didn’t find the ending or the climax of the novel to be worth absolutely slogging through the rest of it.
I hate that there are no half star ratings...I am torn between 3 & 4 on this book.
I think that for its genre, it's good. It's got an interesting message and I'm sure for a specific demographic, was pioneering and I can see it as a type of "wake up call".
Maybe if I had read it 20 years ago, it would have been.
I think that for its genre, it's good. It's got an interesting message and I'm sure for a specific demographic, was pioneering and I can see it as a type of "wake up call".
Maybe if I had read it 20 years ago, it would have been.