God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Rating:
Summary: Pearls before swine
Review: This book, which has been touted as a "brilliant satire on almost everything", is, in fact, one of Vonnegut's second-rate novels. It is perhaps his most pessimistic, cynical, darkest book of them all. It's also different from the majority of his work in that it is fairly straight-forwardly written; it doesn't jump around on narrative detours like most of his books do. The story is told in fairly linear fashion. It is certainly a good book, and a nice, quick read (like all Vonnegut, it has that indescrible weird factor - not suspense, in the typical fashion - that keeps you reading it); it's just that it doesn't have that Great Underlying Moral like his best books do. The book's main character is Eliot Rosewater (undoubtedly a familar persona to Vonnegut fans), and he gives in this book - to everybody - what seemingly no one is willing to give these days: unconditional love. In turn for this, he is spit on by the world. This book says, in typical Vonnegut candor, Help people; you won't be appreciated for it, and you will probably even be ridiclued, but do it, anyway. It also says, Most people don't deserve help - they are worthless, useless, and stupid - but do it, anyway. Also, this book is a sharp-toothed satire of the American welfare system. Vonnegut's view of welfare echoes mine: it was a good idea to start out with, but its usefulness has passed. People who don't need it are milking it shamelessly, and the time has come to drastically re-organize it, or dispense with it alltogether. Vonnegut also tackles the issue of inherited wealth, and all forms of riches you earn by birthright, or other similar cirumstances, without actually earning yourself. Of course, this inevitably raises the subject of Communism. This book has a lot of interesting ideas, and points, but they are never brought together into that single, incredible cohesive whole, like they are in his best books. Certainly, it is a worthy read for fans; others, however, would be wise to start elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Vonnegut Books!
Review: I would have to say that this book is one of the best Vonnegut books ever. This book releases a message to all of its readers. It has a strong story line and the characters are not all that different from our friends and our family. This book honestly changed the way that I looked at life and I would recommend the book to anyone and everyone. Take a chance and read it. This book has all of the elements that you could ever want: Humor, Satire, Irony, Sadness, and resolution. Long live Mr. Rosewater!

Rating:
Summary: another hit for vonnegut
Review: this book was fabulous.. just like everything else that i've read by him. this book had great charaters, plot and voice. this is definitely a book worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: One of Vonneguts Masterpieces
Review: "God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater", is one of Kurt Vonnegut's greatest books. It is based around Eliot Rosewater, a warm hearted, eccentric millionare, and presendent of the Rosewater Corporation, a incredibly rich foundation that is passed along from father to son. He abandons the high life in NYC, and moves to Rosewater County in Indiana, his family's home. Eliot begins to help the poor people (which is all of Rosewater County) with their personal problems, and soon becomes the "father" of them all. A lawyer, seeking the Rosewater fortune for himself, sets out prove that Eliot is insane. I won't tell you the ending, but suffice to say that it is excellent. Vonnegut shows us thatmoney isn't everything, and a poor person from Indiana is just as important as a Senator from New York. A matchless book.

Rating:
Summary: One of Vonnegut's most endearing characters comes to life
Review: Eliot Rosewater could be someone you know. Though caught up in a family struggle of money and power, Rosewater himself wants nothing more than to read the science fiction novels of Kilgore Trout and be a volunteer fireman. Here, Vonnegut uses his great skill of detailing characters to bring this tremendous, lovable character to life. In the background, of course, are the usual life-problems which bring a tinge of dark humor and a sometimes muddling subplot about Rosewater's money which surround him in his life. A gratifying, and greatly humorous experience

Rating:
Summary: eccentric, naive, and often rather dull
Review: After greatly enjoying some Vonnegut sci-fi, I was perhaps looking for the wrong thing with this book. It is a weird story about a nutty millionaire, who is in danger of losing his money to an assembly of the sleaziest twits you could possibly imagine. While there are many very funny asides, such as his love of Kilgore Troustian conceptions or the characterizations of the evil guys (one's posterior is "luminous when wet"), the plot is weak and far-fetched. For example, Rosewater's grandfather built his massive fortune by buying companies in accordance with their acronyms from the Bible's text! That is too silly to be satire. Moreover, Vonnegut's laments about the coldness and brutality of American capitalism are sentimental and even ignorent.

Not recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book
Review: This book takes an interesting look as the simbiotic relationship between a town and its benefactor. I love the lessons learned and it makes you stop and think about the current structure of our society.

Rating:
Summary: It's not his best, but it's clearly Vonnegut
Review: Okay, so God Bless You... may not be the the best thing Vonnegut's ever written, but Vonnegut on an off day is still well worth reading. This book has all his trademarks, from biting social commentary and blazing satire to dark humor and quirky characters. It's a speedy read that will make you both laugh and wince by turns. Don't make it the first Vonnegut book you read -- for that, I'd suggest Slaughterhouse 5 -- but if you're a fan give it a whirl.

Rating:
Summary: Pearls Before Swine
Review: Eliot Rosewater is giving away his money (and love and attention) to deserving people... and some maybe not so deserving. This proves he is crazy. Hence the subtitle "Pearls Before Swine."

That's the setup in this minor Vonnegut novel. Eliot has no illusions about the quality of the people he sometimes helps or how far his help will go. But he insists that the world would be a better place if everyone gave a little something to each other. This in turn sets Eliot up for a confrontation with a lawyer and his Senator father as the family fortune is threatened because Eliot can be proven insane. After all, he's giving it away. He must be crazy. Kilgore Trout comes to the rescue with his usual comically inverted (and yet somehow truer) morals.

This isn't Vonnegut's best but it is a pleasant and gentle novel with a bit of a moral and some good comic moments. A nice read.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: As a huge vonnegut fan, I was very upset to find that this book had a badly developed plot, uninteresting characters, and an almost tragic lack of all the things that make a vonnegut novel great. There really wasn't even what I'd call a complete story, and I skipped a lot of pages out of boredom just to keep things moving. Not recommended for anyone except the rare person who thinks Vonnegut's good books are bad and wants to read a bad one for the sheer pleasure of it all.