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skywalkerdash22 's review for:
Mother Night
by Kurt Vonnegut
This book was perfect. Kurt Vonnegut was definitely a genius. Mother Night is about a man named Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American playwright who was living in Germany when Hitler rose to power, and got recruited to be a spy for the U.S. government. He became a prominent Nazi propagandist, and this book is written from his point of view as he is awaiting trial in Israel for crimes against humanity. Campbell is such a fascinating character, a man who has forced himself to believe in absolutely nothing. I absolutely hate him, but I love reading every single word that he says and thinks. I have no idea if he is evil, but he has no idea either, and he doesn’t care at all either way. Vonnegut is saying so much about the Nazis and fascism and the United States and war and death, but I think what’s most resonant in this book is the ways in which Campbell lies to himself and closes himself off. He’s so apathetic and unwilling to feel any sort of moral qualms about anything, and he is infuriatingly complacent. I think pretty much everyone can relate to that feeling a little bit, the urge to just shrug your shoulders and move forward when things are getting difficult. I know I certainly can. It’s an awful, horrible feeling, but it’s impossible to avoid in this country.
I’m not sure if anything I’m saying makes any sense. I’m trying not to spoil anything about the book because I loved the ride that this story took me on so much, but you will also probably have no idea what I am even saying if you haven’t read it. Maybe you will have no idea what I’m saying even if you did read it. Who knows! I can’t wait to Google the book and see that actually everything I was saying is completely wrong. My brain is not as big as Kurt Vonnegut’s. That’s why I didn’t even try to write a review for Cat’s Cradle, I had no clue where to even begin. I think anybody who likes books should read this one. It’ll make you laugh and it’ll make you think. Those are the two best things you can do.
I think I can sum up my thoughts on this book by relating it to a random quote I saw on Reddit once. I have no idea where it comes from. “We judge ourselves for our intentions, and others for their actions”. This can be taken so many different ways, and I think that in Mother Night, Vonnegut is exploring some very similar ideas. Campbell is unable to judge himself for his intentions or his actions, and I think that’s why I enjoyed this book so much. I wish I would have thought of making this connection earlier in the review. Would have saved me from a lot of aimless rambling. Oh well, not erasing anything.
I’m not sure if anything I’m saying makes any sense. I’m trying not to spoil anything about the book because I loved the ride that this story took me on so much, but you will also probably have no idea what I am even saying if you haven’t read it. Maybe you will have no idea what I’m saying even if you did read it. Who knows! I can’t wait to Google the book and see that actually everything I was saying is completely wrong. My brain is not as big as Kurt Vonnegut’s. That’s why I didn’t even try to write a review for Cat’s Cradle, I had no clue where to even begin. I think anybody who likes books should read this one. It’ll make you laugh and it’ll make you think. Those are the two best things you can do.
I think I can sum up my thoughts on this book by relating it to a random quote I saw on Reddit once. I have no idea where it comes from. “We judge ourselves for our intentions, and others for their actions”. This can be taken so many different ways, and I think that in Mother Night, Vonnegut is exploring some very similar ideas. Campbell is unable to judge himself for his intentions or his actions, and I think that’s why I enjoyed this book so much. I wish I would have thought of making this connection earlier in the review. Would have saved me from a lot of aimless rambling. Oh well, not erasing anything.