Reviews

Slapstick or Lonesome No More by Kurt Vonnegut

indium's review against another edition

3.0

A nice lighthearted gentle read. Vonnegut has great style.

brianbasketball's review against another edition

4.0

Picked this book up for free at a bookstore swap and read it bc I had to return the Van Gogh book. Absolutely flew through it and enjoyed it more and more as it went on. The writing style diary entry type was weird at first but got used to it. Very creative story and feels outlandish in a hitchhikers guide sort of silly way but there was a stronger underlying message about family, loneliness, humanity. Enjoyed and want to read more Vonnegut. Great change of pace from the slow burn epic of the count of monte also

fatbobflynn's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

thetrumpetbeast's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

Easy read, nice break, and nice weirdness.

zusty's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

factoid's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad

5.0

“Christ,” he said, “what American knows anything about his grandparents?”

eirikgje's review against another edition

Another of the books that shaped me. Not so much the plot (I don't really remember much of it, except for some tiny Chinese and the super ugly but super intelligent protagonist), but the way Vonnegut writes - it had me laugh out loud constantly when I read it.

zimmm's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

He’s got my vote. 

Vonnegut back on my good side with this one. Truly absurd work by him but a super fast and interesting read.

musicsaves's review against another edition

4.0

There’s no question that Vonnegut is an acquired taste. Many just won’t get him, but I kinda love the little wack-o! I’ve been reading a lot of him in the past year and this one just made it’s way to the top of my reading pile. Very ironically, I might add, since it’s about a world-wide pandemic and the loneliness that follows for the few survivors. Fortunately, it was presented as a piece of literary “slapstick.” Very funny, quirky, ridiculous and...a little too real these days. As we know, the best comedy is often that which hits closest to home.

One of my favorite and most relatable aspects of the short novel is the heavy sigh that the narrator constantly gives in response to the insanity around him: “Hi Ho.” Relatable, because I’ve been giving that very same sigh constantly since finding myself “trapped” in this new world order. I don’t say “Hi Ho” but if my heavy sighs were put into words, that’s exactly what they would sound like!

Hi Ho.

aidonz's review against another edition

5.0

Really amazing and underrated!