Rating: 
Summary: Genius is out of the bottle!
Review: I loved Timequake. Ting-a-ling. And I loved Like Shaking Hands with God. I would have been satisfied with all the Kurt Vonnegut Jr. writings up to then. He said he was finished. Then he gives us God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian. It's a primer for how to be a fine human being, served with laughs out loud. His premise is brilliant. His writing is perfectly crafted. He gives us unexpected insights that would even surprise his subjects. Morsel for morsel, these 21 brief stories offer the finest mental dining I've ever been treated to. Was this dessert?
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Vonnegut Outdoes Monkeys Who Bite Things, Yet Again
Review: I mean could we ask anything more from the man? Going near his 80's, and still publishing work of this caliber. It may only be a short story padded out to fill a book, but the delightful title and his sarcasm (as per usual) make it a wonderful buy. Given the title I am sure legal problems will follow though -- I can only hope everyone grabs the first edition while they can -- I will treasure MINE always.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Vonnegut
Review: I think I have just about read every Kurt Vonnegut book out there, well not quite, but I'm getting there. Needless to say, I am a fan of his. I read God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian right after I read God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, thinking that it may be a funny satire on Rosewater. I was wrong, and I'm grateful for it. Vonnegut's short interviews with the dead and his adventurous near-death experiences (controlled by Jack Kevorkian of course) are hilarious. I guarantee that you won't stop smiling and you won't put down this book until you've finished it.
Rating:
Summary: honest
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it in a brief sitting a few years ago and decided to read it again recently. I have given this book five stars for several reasons. It is simple. It's not a novel, therefore it is more blatant... I mean that in a good way. Mr. Vonnegut digs up wonderful points about humanity, while he puts aside his humanitarianist disbelief in heaven in order to stroll around the pearly gates. Mr. Vonnegut hasn't lost his satire either. Enough of me talking, just go out and get the book... and give Kurt Vonnegut money for KNYC because he said that's what he published the book for.
Rating:
Summary: honest
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it in a brief sitting a few years ago and decided to read it again recently. I have given this book five stars for several reasons. It is simple. It's not a novel, therefore it is more blatant... I mean that in a good way. Mr. Vonnegut digs up wonderful points about humanity, while he puts aside his humanitarianist disbelief in heaven in order to stroll around the pearly gates. Mr. Vonnegut hasn't lost his satire either. Enough of me talking, just go out and get the book... and give Kurt Vonnegut money for KNYC because he said that's what he published the book for.
Rating: 
Summary: Short and sweet
Review: I was trapped at the mall, waiting for the fine gentlemen at Sears auto center to put my snow tires on, and my original wait time of an hour and a half became three and a half hours. I killed *part* of that time browsing in a bookstore and reading this *entire* book!I love Vonnegut, no doubt. I've read everything he's written (outside of the hard to get out of print stuff), and this was all I had left. Vonnegut doles out such poignant trinkets of wisdom, and I always come away feeling smarter after finishing one of his books. This book was no exception. Execpt it was a lot shorter. There is more truth in this little book than in most full-length novels. And we find that Vonnegut is still the same, funny, brilliant man. Just older and less apt to publish anything new. So we have to savor what we get, I guess. God bless *you*, Mr. Vonnegut!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect read, ostentatious packaging.
Review: I would have been much more satisfied seeing this package as a small zine or something of that sort rather than a hardback.
Still, what's important is what's inside.
The words inside: you'll find something which I can only describe as an appendix to Gibran's "The Prophet." It just has that feel to it. There seems to be some controversy over the quality of this book, this is why I'm writing a review on it.
This book is interesting, it is not a novel. It will take you about a half an hour to read or maybe more and it contains just about all of the socio-political topics that Vonnegut likes to touch on in his novels.
It's such a great concept, and such an easy, fun, and short read, why wouldn't I give it 5 stars?
Hell, if your going to read one short philisophical and/or selfhelp book this year, take this one over "Who Moved My Cheese?" for God's sake. You'll get a lot more bang for your buck. I promise.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Makes It Great
Review: I've been out of touch with Vonnegut for years but just a few lines into this collection and I was swinging to the voice of the master as though I'd never been away. And what a voice it is- Vonnegut fans are very different types of people, and yet, as readers, we become part of a great big family, (one of Vonengut's brilliant pursuits,) part of a speciality subgroup and we are not afraid. The worst villain of the modern era is right up there in heaven during one of Vonnegut's near-death experiences, assisted by Dr. Kevorkian and later contributed to NY Public radio. Typically, when Vonnegut meets up with Hitler, the fuhrer's statement to mankind is translated to, "I beg your pardon." The only person who takes a beating in fact is Thomas Jefferson- de-mythologized and stripped of the honors that were historically misplaced. It soon becomes apparent that after all, there is no hell, and consequently, no paroxysms of guilt, no superiority, no celestial amnesty international! Vonnegut is a good guy, and as we read him, we blessedly agree, influenced by sweep of hilarity and forgiveness; no perfection required to enjoy the comeraderie. As Vonnegut books go, this is mediocre but certainly a worthwhile brief reminder to go fetch those old books and start over. Make this part of your collection- come back into the fold- you won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Quick, Snappy, and Deep.
Review: If you have never read Vonnegut, I suggest starting here. This ia a fine novel with a unique premise. Each chapter the author is killed and brought back to life so he can interview souls on the other side, both famous and ordinary. The insights brought back are well worth the trip. The major flaw in this book is the fact that it is only 77 pages (paperback). With a cast of characters that could span all of human history, there was so much more that could have been done. Thanx for your time, T
Rating: 
Summary: Do NOT expect Sirens of Titan or Slaugterhouse!
Review: If you just came around after reading his vintage masterpieces, such as Sirens of Titan or God Bless You Mr. Rosewater or Cat's Cradle or whatever, and expect to find more of those sad but hilarious but deeply moving stories here, don't. You'll be dissapointed. The book is a collection of interviews with dead people by Mr. Vonnegut. All of them are about 2-3 pages long (and those are pages with very large margins). Vonnegut cannot sustain the power in his writing, resorts to some small talk and just leaves without really making much of a point (except for something like "Oh, life is generally OK" sort of remark) in any of them. This seems to have been a CD, which might have worked. But not in a book form. If you are a really royal fan of Vonnegut who would even praise his shopping list, then you might enjoy it and actually call this a masterpiece, as some of the reviewers here have done. But if you are like me who loved his earlier works but thinks that his recent works really lacks steam, you would probably feel that this is another of his rather steamless recent works. There are some moments that are...so so moving, or so so funny, but they really don't hold together as a whole.
|
