God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Rating:
Summary: Very good story of the greedy modern man
Review: I thought Vonnegut wrote a great story about how greed clouds your vision. It is a very original story, and I thought it was both funny and sad. I thought it was funny how when a man was not greedy with his wealth, and handed it out freely, the hero was lebeled insane and locked up. I recomend this book to any Vonnegut fan.

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: No, it isn't Cat's Cradle, but
Review: for the love of Dicky birds! LAY OFF. I have read about five Vonnegut novels and enjoyed them, but I liked this one in particular for the very fact that it brings his writing to a more society-concious reader. I don't want to call them ignorant, but you know what I mean. This isn't "tripe". Maybe it's just his study of rich people and senators and the unfortunate people of Rosewater. What tripe? Indeed. This is hardly tripe. It isn't sci-fi, but LAY OFF!

Rating:
Summary: A little slow for some
Review: I have been hooked on Kurt Vonnegut since the 11th grade and have read a little less than ten of his books. This is one of his shorter books that tells of a millionaire who is extremely unhappy with his life and chooses not to live in luxury as he very well could but instead lives in a messy dirty apartment above a store in a small town and helps the townfolk. He does this by supplying a help line that people call in with their problems or he writes people checks. This is an overall satire of the united states welfare system and, in Vonneguts point of view, its hopelessness.

Rating:
Summary: A Heartening Story
Review: A very heartening story about the life of somewhat regular people. That is, not extravagent. Although very eccentric, but that's what one expects from KV. The story is pretty strong, and very funny along the way. Not a good first-time read from Vonnegut.

Rating:
Summary: this one's for all the firemen.
Review: I've been through most of the Vonnegut collection, and this is one of the better ones. The thing I love about Vonnegut, is he creates all these peripheral characters and Trout sci-fi plots that are such wonderful ideas in and of themselves. I wish he would explore them more fully. I especially would have liked to read more about Lila. Well, I guess it goes to show you good ideas are a dime a dozen.

Rating:
Summary: Laying on the layers
Review: Reading "God bless you, Mr. Rosewater" is like competing in a mental exercise with Kurt Vonnegut, but he's cheating, because all the controls are on his side of the table. There is a plot to Rosewater, though not one of much substance. But the characters, so many and of such wide scope. And Vonnegut keeps adding more and laying on bits and pieces of story asides. You keep thinking you know where the author is taking you, only to find out you are totally wrong. The narrator of this entire tale is introdced in the second half. It's not the author, it's...well...read it and ponder. And then when you think you have the story line figured out and where the character of the narrator fits in, the book does a 180 and you're wrong again. It's a triste on greed, the haves and the have not, and the saintliness of firefighters. There are U.S. Senators, lesbians, teenage smut peddlars, murderers, life insurance salesmen, and Kilgore Trout. None of it makes sense, and all of it makes sense. Oh, the way I heard the saying was, "It's no disgrace to be poor, just damn unhandy."

Rating:
Summary: Laying on the layers
Review: Reading "God bless you, Mr. Rosewater" is like competing in a mental exercise with Kurt Vonnegut, but he's cheating, because all the controls are on his side of the table. There is a plot to Rosewater, though not one of much substance. But the characters, so many and of such wide scope. And Vonnegut keeps adding more and laying on bits and pieces of story asides. You keep thinking you know where the author is taking you, only to find out you are totally wrong. The narrator of this entire tale is introdced in the second half. It's not the author, it's...well...read it and ponder. And then when you think you have the story line figured out and where the character of the narrator fits in, the book does a 180 and you're wrong again. It's a triste on greed, the haves and the have not, and the saintliness of firefighters. There are U.S. Senators, lesbians, ..., murderers, life insurance salesmen, and Kilgore Trout. None of it makes sense, and all of it makes sense...

Rating:
Summary: Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Review: God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is a perfect example of a canned story. Nothing about this book could be considered excellent, nor original. The alleged wit of Vonnegut makes no appearance in this bit of tripe. The only somewhat redeeming facet of this book was the fact that everyone in it was useless: the Senator who obvioulsy bought his way into politics, the absent-minded heir to a fortune unearned even by his father, and the helpless souls of Rosewater, IN. Perhaps that's what this story is all about; reducing everyone to the same mean, useless status, and then showing how a "great" person will love them regardless. What a load of tripe.

Rating:
Summary: Skip this one, read another
Review: The bad thing about having a writer that your really respect and admire is that at some point they will let you down. Rosewater is a little ditty, a nice try. The book has a lot of potential to be more than it is, but it is caught up in the very same trivial matters that it is satirizing. The loose plot is heavily focused on money as a good and equally evil thing, and it drifts from one character to the next without the amazing wit of Vonnegut's other novels. Read Cat's Cradle instead, that's a masterpiece.