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A review by postnet
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
The Butlerian Jihad by Kurt Vonnegut!
The primary thematic elements of the book have aged like fine wine. Humanity has such a deep seated desire for progress, growth, and innovation we will remove the need for humans to that end.
On the other hand due to the time period it was written in the gender politics and presentation of female characters is lacking and has not aged nearly as gracefully.
I loved this book for what it says about humanity. The same reason I love almost ever Vonnegut novel. He presents polished mirror for ourselves to look at. Our flaws, our triumphs, how they intertwine, and why that complete mess of contradictions that we are is so beautiful and worth caring about.
This novel so accurately portrays the working experience even 70 years after its publication. The corporate charade, the pretending, the cast of characters found all over the corporate world are so pristinely represented in a way that you cant help but laugh at, even while rolling your eyes with exasperation.
With all that praise deservedly earned if you have read his other novels like i have its very obvious this was his first. There are elements of his writing style and humor that he mastered to a sharper edge in his later novels that are certainly here, but not as refined. It also has pacing issues in the middle. The beginning is rocking, the middle starts to drag and can feel aimless at times, and then everything happens all at once in the last ~80 pages.
Regardless, I really enjoyed this!
The primary thematic elements of the book have aged like fine wine. Humanity has such a deep seated desire for progress, growth, and innovation we will remove the need for humans to that end.
On the other hand due to the time period it was written in the gender politics and presentation of female characters is lacking and has not aged nearly as gracefully.
I loved this book for what it says about humanity. The same reason I love almost ever Vonnegut novel. He presents polished mirror for ourselves to look at. Our flaws, our triumphs, how they intertwine, and why that complete mess of contradictions that we are is so beautiful and worth caring about.
This novel so accurately portrays the working experience even 70 years after its publication. The corporate charade, the pretending, the cast of characters found all over the corporate world are so pristinely represented in a way that you cant help but laugh at, even while rolling your eyes with exasperation.
With all that praise deservedly earned if you have read his other novels like i have its very obvious this was his first. There are elements of his writing style and humor that he mastered to a sharper edge in his later novels that are certainly here, but not as refined. It also has pacing issues in the middle. The beginning is rocking, the middle starts to drag and can feel aimless at times, and then everything happens all at once in the last ~80 pages.
Regardless, I really enjoyed this!