Rating: 
Summary: "How Did your Parents Die?"
Review: _Bluebeard_ has no time-travel, aliens, human robots, or Kilgore Trout, but is a very Kurt Vonnegut book, and my favorite of his novels. _Bluebeard_ is a very life-affirming novel over-all: a rare Vonnegut stance, but one I wish he'd explored more often._Bluebeard_ is the story of Rabo Karabekian, an Armenian-American Abstract Expressionist painter, told from the point of view of a autobiography/diary. Rabo is inspired to begin this work after an encounter with a bright, vibrant woman, Circe Berman, a writer of bright, vibrant novels for young adults, who doesn't believe in saying "hello" and instead greets him with the question "how did your parents die?" These quirky moments of conversation and life color the whole novel. But the novel is not all humor and lightness; Circe's question demonstrates the bitter-sweet nature of much of the novel. Much of that which gives the novel its humanity are the moments of despair and sad revelation. But the revelations are not that of destiny controlling aliens, or the author giving free-will to his creations, a strength of the book, and over-all the book is positive. Like Rabo, Vonnegut departs from the genre that he's known for, but both end up creating masterpieces that touch the soul and open room for wonder in Vonnegut's world.
Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut's most human work
Review: Kurt Vonnegut's body of work contains some of the most humane books i have ever read. Books that strive to teach everyone to act with an uncommon decency and to possess a soul of true wit. Often, however, his characters are overwhelmed by the allegories that vonnegut makes of their lives. Not so with 'Bluebeard,' a novel seemingly possessed with humanity. Yes there are the wonderful lessons that we have come to expect from our buddy Kurt, but here we have a group of people who for once seem to grasp their lives in a way that makes them jump above the considerable intellectual content of the novel in which they are living. i think this may be due to the fact that most Vonnegut novels chronicle some poor souls world falling down in a slow earthquake of time, Bluebeard shows a man living a life that builds in complexity towards a powerful climax of wisdom, of heart. Rabo Karabekian finds a way to bring his soul to the world. Rather than being a typical vonnegut hero going to hell on a road paved with his own good intentions, Rabo takes the various hells of his life and finds a way to turn them all into little jewels. A sobering but ultimately marvelous gift to the world
Rating:
Summary: nobody could paint uniforms like Dan Gregory........
Review: The story of Rabo Karabekian a painter,father a man caught in his past. Vonnegut's writing about one of his characters in Rabo whom as been in other of his works.
Now get this "Blubeard" is Rabo Karabekians autobiography how genius is that. The book has a great easy flow. Typical Vonnegut work. Rabo is telling about of course his life with the help a new friend Circe Berman, whom the book is get this dedicated to..haaaa
Rabo is a medicore painter,who had to find himself. The book changes quickly from the the past to the present, but it is done so remarkably well that you wont even notice.
I felt that the book was about a man lost on his on canvas and the picture of his life he is painting as his writes his memories.I hope that my review does justice to the book. I will remember this line," ..That the human condition can be summed up in just one word, and this is the word:Embarrassment." IT's True,IT's True.....
Rating:
Summary: Bravo,
Review: Kurt Vonnegut-for writing glib, memorable characters to take part in your puppet shows. An aging Abstract Expressionist is trying to enjoy his last years in obscurity when a woman suddenly befriends him and more or less forces him to think about his past and write his autobiography. As the demanding guest makes him dig deeper into his unhappy life, he remembers his intrinsic worth that half a century of war and art had blurred. Few writers are any good at making you feel for their characters. Bluebeard is a fine example of Vonnegut's mastery. Certainly one of the best I've read from him.
Rating:
Summary: One of his finest
Review: I've read lots of Vonnegut and frankly I thought this was one of his lesser works. Boy, was I wrong. Here we have Vonnegut at his most focused on a long time, tearing off page after page that will make you laugh and stop and think at the same time. The story is basically the autobiography of an obscure artist character in Breakfast of Champions, but here he turns Rabo into someone you might think is real, so does his humor and pain cascade off the page. He bounces back and forth between his past and his present at his mansion where he just wants to be left alone, in the great Vonnegut tradition (and he doesn't need time travel this time out), comparing and contrasting the worst moments of his life with the best and trying to figure out what it all means. To me, this is one of Vonnegut's most human novels, his sense of satire and wit are still apparent and sharp but the entire story isn't devoted to Vonnegut making some barbed point about us and society as a whole, it's there but there's more time put into having get to know Rabo has someone who might live down the street from us. I devoured this book and found myself satisified, even the long anticipated secret of what lies in the potato barn was well worth the suspense (and it really is), this is the most fun I've had with a Vonnegut book in long time. Probably one of his more obscure works, it deserves to be read along with his other classics. It may not reach those peaks but it comes darn close.
Rating:
Summary: nobody could paint uniforms like Dan Gregory........
Review: The story of Rabo Karabekian a painter,father a man caught in his past. Vonnegut's writing about one of his characters in Rabo whom as been in other of his works.
Now get this "Blubeard" is Rabo Karabekians autobiography how genius is that. The book has a great easy flow. Typical Vonnegut work. Rabo is telling about of course his life with the help a new friend Circe Berman, whom the book is get this dedicated to..haaaa
Rabo is a medicore painter,who had to find himself. The book changes quickly from the the past to the present, but it is done so remarkably well that you wont even notice.
I felt that the book was about a man lost on his on canvas and the picture of his life he is painting as his writes his memories.I hope that my review does justice to the book. I will remember this line," ..That the human condition can be summed up in just one word, and this is the word:Embarrassment." IT's True,IT's True.....
Rating:
Summary: One of Vonnegut's Most Hearfelt Works
Review: I'm a huge Vonnegut fan. He is one of the strongest influences on my own writing. However, while I usually find his stories full of real characters who are in unreal situations (Time Quake, Galapagos, etc.) Bluebeard is full of real characters in a very real setting. It is a character story through and through, and is refreshingly Earth-bound. If you like Vonnegut but dislike his tendencies towards sci-fi, you'll love this book. If you love the sci-fi edge, well... you'll probably still like this book.
Rating:
Summary: One of his best books
Review: I am a big fan of Vonnegut. This author will amaze you every time. Bluebeard is deffinatly in the same ranks with Cat's cradle and Breakfast of Champions
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Vonnegut
Review: In the 5 or 6 Vonnegut books I've read so far, I've yet to be disappointed, and Bluebeard is certainly no exception. It is, however, one of his less fantastic tales. Karabekian has a less than ordinary past, but the story itself seldom leaves his house in the Hamptons, except for the random flashbacks to his childhood or his time during the war as a camouflage artist. The genius in this book is truly the characters and the twists of admiration, disgust, comraderie and annoyance that keeps even an old bluebeard constantly evolving.
Though not my favorite of Vonnegut's books, I consider even the worst of what he's written absolute masterpieces.
Rating:
Summary: Great, Solid, Funny/Sad Book!
Review: This is book is an exemplification of life and its ironies. The author has such a witty yet down-to-earth writing slyle that makes the reader curious as to what lies ahead. I marvelled at the way the author goes back and forth in time and places without ever confusing the reader. The flow of the book is magnificent, and the story in it is so human that one can alsmost empathize with Rabo though he is a fictional character. Kurt Vonnegut is definitely a genius of American literature and a much under-rated at that. Very beautifully written from a person who could have easily turned bitter or tormented by blows life has dealt him. Excellent penmanship, excellent story.
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