liznorton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
gibigabi's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
joshuabushen's review against another edition
5.0
The Sirens of Titan is the fourth Kurt Vonnegut book I've read this year and undoubtedly the best of the bunch for me. This book is equal parts hilarious, heartbreaking, and thought provoking. As always with Vonnegut he uses the off the wall story as a vehicle for him to be able to talk about deeper issues like the nature of religion and the meaninglessness of life itself. What a book, what an author.
10/10
10/10
enbyglitch's review against another edition
4.0
Had a fair few clever moments and wasn't obscenely discriminatory! Can't say the humor always landed, but I'm sure despite the humorous tone this 1959 book pioneered a number of aspects of modern (science) fiction.
bigenk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
During the summer before my junior year in high-school, my upcoming English class gave everyone an assignment to read one book. It didn't matter what book it was, our teacher just wanted us to read literally anything, presumably so that we didn't show up to class having let our reading skills stagnate for 3 months. The prior year, I had read Slaughter House 5, and really enjoyed it, so I decided why not try another one of Kurt Vonnegut Jr's novels. The Sirens of Titan was what I chose.
I simply can't describe to you how captivated I was. I had simply never read anything like it. When I dried to describe it to my class a month later, everything was so vivid in my head, but I had a hard to putting it all in to words. I think they may have got the wrong idea about it. Looking back on it now, I think this book was very formative on my tastes as a reader, but also my outlook on life.
The Sirens of Titans revolves around Malachi Constant, the wealthiest person on earth, whose destiny is foretold by Winston Rumfoord, a man who purposefully flew into an anomaly in space that then spreads his existence over the solar system. Malachi is sent to Mars to participate in a sham and forced invasion of Earth, has his intelligence tested in the caves of Mercury, returns to Earth as the prodigal son, only to be exiled yet again by the new religion of earth that handicaps everyone equally. He is sent to Titan with Rumfoord's former wife Beatrice, whom he had a child with, to help an alien robot complete his own destiny. It's ridiculous, adventurous, and funny. It reminds me a lot of The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, both in terms of its unrelenting pacing, and the density of its fantastic ideas.
Vonnegut has his own distinct flavor of prose, which is on display here, though perhaps not at it's highest strength. I personally love the style, love how seemingly effortless it is to read without sacrificing depth of meaning, but I can understand that it's not for everyone. I think Vonnegut provides a great palate cleanser when you become tired of reading the same old thing, simply because he's so different from anyone else. There's a sarcastic, ironic, and dark style of humor to this novel that I also enjoyed immensely.
Vonnegut obsesses over destiny, and the absence of free-will. Nearly every single character in the Sirens of Titan can not control their own fate, no matter how they try to deviate from it with their actions. Vonnegut postulates that in this indifferent universe where there is no higher meaning, that what is most important is finding a place where you can be of use, accepting it, and loving those that can be loved around you. Boaz, Malachi's companion on Mars and Mercury, thought he had some higher purpose in leading the Martian army, but discovered his foolishness and found a place where he can love and be loved in the caves of Mercury. He accepted this position, no matter how small it is perceived to be, and found happiness. In contrast, Rumfoord runs away from the solar system when he discovers that he too had a destiny outside of his own control.
I think frequently about how small we are in the indifferent cosmos, and how in spite of that we can all find our little corner of purpose. I think this book must've at least played a part in forming that thought process. I don't know if it's necessarily a perfect book, but it's important to me personally, I think that it's a wild ride regardless of your personal connection to it.
I simply can't describe to you how captivated I was. I had simply never read anything like it. When I dried to describe it to my class a month later, everything was so vivid in my head, but I had a hard to putting it all in to words. I think they may have got the wrong idea about it. Looking back on it now, I think this book was very formative on my tastes as a reader, but also my outlook on life.
The Sirens of Titans revolves around Malachi Constant, the wealthiest person on earth, whose destiny is foretold by Winston Rumfoord, a man who purposefully flew into an anomaly in space that then spreads his existence over the solar system. Malachi is sent to Mars to participate in a sham and forced invasion of Earth, has his intelligence tested in the caves of Mercury, returns to Earth as the prodigal son, only to be exiled yet again by the new religion of earth that handicaps everyone equally. He is sent to Titan with Rumfoord's former wife Beatrice, whom he had a child with, to help an alien robot complete his own destiny. It's ridiculous, adventurous, and funny. It reminds me a lot of The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, both in terms of its unrelenting pacing, and the density of its fantastic ideas.
Vonnegut has his own distinct flavor of prose, which is on display here, though perhaps not at it's highest strength. I personally love the style, love how seemingly effortless it is to read without sacrificing depth of meaning, but I can understand that it's not for everyone. I think Vonnegut provides a great palate cleanser when you become tired of reading the same old thing, simply because he's so different from anyone else. There's a sarcastic, ironic, and dark style of humor to this novel that I also enjoyed immensely.
Vonnegut obsesses over destiny, and the absence of free-will. Nearly every single character in the Sirens of Titan can not control their own fate, no matter how they try to deviate from it with their actions. Vonnegut postulates that in this indifferent universe where there is no higher meaning, that what is most important is finding a place where you can be of use, accepting it, and loving those that can be loved around you. Boaz, Malachi's companion on Mars and Mercury, thought he had some higher purpose in leading the Martian army, but discovered his foolishness and found a place where he can love and be loved in the caves of Mercury. He accepted this position, no matter how small it is perceived to be, and found happiness. In contrast, Rumfoord runs away from the solar system when he discovers that he too had a destiny outside of his own control.
I think frequently about how small we are in the indifferent cosmos, and how in spite of that we can all find our little corner of purpose. I think this book must've at least played a part in forming that thought process. I don't know if it's necessarily a perfect book, but it's important to me personally, I think that it's a wild ride regardless of your personal connection to it.
ellapoole's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
topbob's review against another edition
5.0
After thinking it over, ive decided that this is my favorite book of all time. While I have heard this book praised as Vonnegut's best work, I was skeptical. But this story is just so imaginative, and I was hooked from the start and it only got better and better. It is absolutely hysterical, emotional, intense at times. My mind was blown with just how many brilliant lines there were about life. Finally, im a sucker for a good ending, and this was not only the first great Vonnegut ending (Slaughter-House 5 had a decent ending, the rest so far rather poor), but one of the greatest endings at that. Just a masterpiece all around, so much fun.