God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Rating:
Summary: Preachy
Review: A preachy, rather muddle-headed little lecture on how to love your fellow man, tricked up to look like a novel. Self-indulgent in the extreme.

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Summary: Brilliant portrayal of life as ivory-tower dwellers know it.
Review: To paraphraze Winston Churchill, if you don't weep over Vonnegut's acclaimed social satire at 20, you have no heart. If you still weep while re-reading it at 35, you have no brain. By masterfully portraying the abyss between the "dirt-poor" and "filthy rich", wittily arguing that the latter are far more useless than the former, Vonnegut only casually mentions the fairly well-washed millions in between; the ground on which the demarcation lines are blurred, and his personal rules of humanism are frequently set aside in favor of garden-variety street smarts. Vonnegut's trademark quirky characters, vivid style, and tight, beautifully wrapped up plot are, as always, very useful weapons in his emotional blackmail: if you don't see the world on his terms, if you take neither side, be ashamed of yourself! Be very ashamed of yourself...

Rating:
Summary: Great NoveL!
Review: This was a great novel. I am not usually one to sit down and read a book cover to cover in one sitting, but I did that with this novel. I am a big vonnegut fan and Have not read one of his books that dissapointed me yet. this one was no different in that category

Rating:
Summary: a pretty damn good book
Review: It's not Slaughterhouse-Five or anything, but if you want a Vonnegut satire, look no further than this if you've already read Breakfast Of Champions.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I found this masterpiece much better than the famed Slaughterhouse-Five. To me, it was a better and more moving story. This book has truly changed my life and made me a better person. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Uplifting and Consistantly Great!
Review: With "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" (heretofore known as GBYMR), Vonnegut breaks the traditionally gloomy 20th century mold by presenting a hero who truly is good, and truly is altruistic. Eliot Rosewater has no ulterior motives; he just wants to make people happy. GBYMR proves Vonnegut has range, as he can swing from the gloom of "Slaughterhouse V" to the bright outlook presented by GBYMR: That people really do have the capacity for good.

Rating:
Summary: What the hell are people for?
Review: Kilgore Trout's novel -- 2br02b -- boldly ask the question "What the hell are people for?" Vonnegut offers an answer in this book. His protaganist Eliot Rosewater, struggles for meaning in a world obsessed by money, greed and prestige. (Sound familiar?) Yet Eliot is able to hold his course. I strongly recommend this book to reluctant cynics and others looking for a witty, well written novel about the nature of human beings.

Rating:
Summary: God in a Godless world.
Review: This book is sheer genius. After reading it once, I was forced to stop, think, and read it again. Upon a closer examination, I realized that Eliot Rosewater personifies God in a Godless universe. Agree? Yes? No? Email me and we shall discuss.

Rating:
Summary: Opening your mind with needles
Review: This book relates the travails of Mr. Rosewater. His life is the story of every sane person living in the insane world. Symbols and analogies to the state of society run rampant in Vonnegut's satire. Everybody exists in this novel in some form or another, whether you are the money-greedy lawyer or the disappointed father. If you wish to attempt a better understanding of your life, read it.

Rating:
Summary: The Tale of St. Eliot of Rosewater
Review: Eliot Rosewater was the scion of an extremely wealthy family- his grandfather had even married a Rockefeller. Eliot stood to inherit control of the vast family fortune through the Rosewater Foundation (a legal entity constructed to shield that fortune from taxation.) But then Eliot went off to WW2 to become a highly decorated Captain of combat infantry. He served with men from all walks of life. Oh yes, he also accidentally bayoneted a 14-year old non-combatant, and afterwards tried to throw himself under a truck. After this he was never the same, much to his rich and powerful family's distress. While he did come back to graduate from Harvard Law and assume control of the foundation, he started behaving...irrationally. He started to actually use the money to HELP people! He also started drinking, wandering, and visiting volunteer firehouses- among other eccentricities.

Eventually, he ended up in Rosewater, Indiana- a depressed backwater that his family had long ago used up and abandoned to found the beginnings of their fortune. He found the people there to be without pride, without hope, without work. So he opened up an office over the liquor store in order to help anyone who needed his help. The sign on the door said simply, "Rosewater Foundation: How Can We Help You?" So Eliot Rosewater, philanthropist, poet, volunteer fireman, Harvard graduate, and drunk proceeded to help any and all that came to him for help.

Needless to say his family could not allow such insanity to continue. Why even Eliot's psychoanalyst came to the conclusion that Eliot was a pervert. The nature of his perversion being the fact that he had channeled all his psychic energy into bringing Utopia to earth for all those in need. What could be more abnormal in modern, capitalist society?

This is my absolute all time favorite Vonnegut novel- and I have read them all.

Oh yes, it also offers one of the best descriptions of the absurdity and injustice of the class system in the U.S. As one of the characters asks, who does run this crazy country? These cr**ps sure don't.