Galapagos

Rating:
Summary: Not for the weak of conscience
Review: Galapagos is a no-holds-barred attack against our tendencies towards aggression and destruction, where the only hope for mankind is to start over from scratch. Of course, though this novel is by no means subtle on that account, if you're a Vonnegut fan, you should be used to this by now. Just think of it as a second Noah's Arc.
Depressing as this sounds, Vonnegut's wit keeps a smile constantly on your face. As radical as his writing style generally is, this book pushes it even beyond his normal limits.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Imagination and Insightfulness
Review: As always, this book by Vonnegut is pure gold. Kurt is a literary genius with his signature writing style and dizzing intellect. Similar to an English Farce, everything happens at the wrong place and the wrong time for the 7 aboard the Nature Cruise of the Century. Brilliantly written.

Rating:
Summary: How Could Anyone Rate This Book Less Than 5 Stars?
Review: This book is one of the best books I have read in my entire life, not only is Vonneguts dark satire extremely funny in this book, but the points brought up about humans, as a race, are amazingly thought provoking. As the back of the book states "Vonnegut looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry - and all that is worth saving." If you have not read this book, but are somewhat intrigued, I reccomend that you read it because it is something different, yet refreshing through its out of the world thoughts.

Rating:
Summary: Not up to his Par (BMSOA)
Review: Galapagos is a very interesting book from the get go and it is compounded by the fact that it¡¦s written millions of years after it happened. It tells the tale of the people who began the next branch of the human evolutionary tree and how like the Galapagos creatures were stranded and diverged from the normal species developmental path. The novel contains many intriguing side stories which most of the time seems better than the actual story.
Vonnegut unfortunately added some pretty annoying literary devices which took away from the stories power. For example he added stars next to the name of people who are going to die soon. Those stars, similar to his so it goes in Slaughter House 5, seem to give away the story line and helps the story very little. This novel is certainly not his best, but because of all the wonderful and detailed side stories and characters it¡¦s a good read for any dedicated Vonnegut reader. I also recommend Cats Cradle, Time quake and Breakfast of Champions for other Vonnegut fans.

Rating:
Summary: Scary'ha, ha, ha.
Review: As to Vonnegut's GALAPAGOS, one is naturally inclined toward charity when reading an author who has spent sixty years of his life to entertain readers. That said, having the ghost as a narrator was neither scary nor funny. The interrupting quotations belched from the black box, Mandarax, were pretentious and of course interrupted the flow of the story. This story shows the author's inclination to use gimmicks to establish a new genre which might be called science satire. One must be fully prepared to suspend disbelief when being told of a blue tunnel to the afterlife that is pursuing the narrator ghost, son of the now tiresome Kilgore Trout. To pen a narrator who has no part in the action and no motive for telling this story beyond curiosity is a continuous distraction to the story'not at all what the author intended. The ghost was really composed of Vonnegut's haunting memories of Vietnam, another distraction.

Rating:
Summary: An acquired taste of the islands
Review: The only fiction that we read on the islands, this strange little novel by Vonnegut (hmm, that's probably an oxymoronic statement) contains quite a bit about the natural history and make-up of the place than one might expect. A science fiction story about 1986 and the events that caused the end of the human race, except for an accidental experimental colony on Santa Rosalie (not an actual island in the chain, as far as I could tell), the story is part tragedy, part comedy--a post-modern expose on humans and human nature, with special emphasis on the benefits of natural selection. Vonnegut is not for everyone, but if you can stand his laconic wit, this is the most unique book that you can find about the Galapagos.

Rating:
Summary: First Foray into Vonnegut
Review: This, as stated in my title, is my first experience with a Kurt Vonnegut book. I found myself deeply engrossed by his wit and wisdom, as well as his inate ability to pull a reader into his prose. I am looking forward to reading more books by the author.

Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut's best - Vonnegut even states it's his best book
Review: I'm amazed at some of the negative reviews of this book. I have most of Vonnegut's books and this is by far his best and it's also my favorite. Vonnegut even says it's his best book.

But don't take my words - or the author's words - read it for yourself and make up your own mind.

Rating:
Summary: Not at his best
Review: Galapagos! What a disaster that was. To tell the truth this is my least favorite Kurt Vonecut book. It just isn't like his normal witty self. The book is almost serious. Although the story is gripping and addictive, the story drags too much on simple things. It is as far from "The Sirens of Titan" or "Breakfast of Champions" as possible. Definately not one of his best. My advice is: Put down Galapogos and go but "The Sirens of Titan".

Rating:
Summary: a fun misreading or Charles Darwin
Review: What a great concept...our big brains are our downfall, the one problem that evolution will ultimately alleviate. I agree that this is not Vonnegut's most rewarding book, but it is certainly the most thought provoking and the most fun to talk about. The idea of human beings, millions of years into the future, as having evolved into otter-like mamals who eat seaweed and lay in the sun to cook it within their stomachs strikes me as very funny. I've always loved Vonnegut. I read all the books at 13, when they were cool just for the cynicism and swear words and later in my twenties when I found them provacative and oddly touching. For later period Vonnegut, this is definitely a highlight though, a lot of plot, rather than just a forum for him to be a wise-(guy).