Timequake

Rating:
Summary: A Misunderstood Classic
Review: ...Upon it's release, "Timequake" was hailed as Vonnegut's final novel (and it may very well be). He had been writing it on and off for ten years, and after a series of rewrites and revisions, he admitted that the book ultimately failed. Therefore, the original sci-fi premise--the events surrounding a 'glitch' in time that causes people to relive episodes of their lives over and over again--becomes merely a sidelining plot, whereas Vonnegut's often pessimistic reflections on his life, career, family, and existence in general, becomes the main focus of this semi-autobiographical book.

So in addition to revisiting Vonnegut's fictional alter-ego, Kilgore Trout, we witness Vonnegut in his everyday life and his struggle to write a novel doomed to fail. The result is a classic collection of Vonnegut's combination of humor with heartbreak that has defined his written career of the past half-century.

For Vonnegut's many devoted readers, including myself, "Timequake" is a difficult book to read. We know it is a farewell to his fans. It is also an emotional read, since our hero is often critical of himself, and not in the lighthearted sense of his earlier novels. He is old, he is ill, he is bitter. When so many people consider him to be one of the greatest novelists America has produced, he seems to view himself as a failure...instead of ending his career with a crowning achievement, he chooses to quietly wave and step out the back door.

Nonetheless, Vonnegut's incomparable talent makes this an excellent book. However, one should not rate this book without first becoming familiar with his earlier work. Only then can it be appreciated as the ingenious conclusion to an illustrious career.

Rating:
Summary: When is this rousseauist naif gonna shut up?
Review: Easily the worst fic since ... oh ... I'd have to go back to KID ANDREW CODY & JULIE SPARROW by Hollywood-legend Tony Curtis. There's one good quote: "Chicago is a better city than New York because Chicago has alleys. The garbage doesn't pile up on the sidewalks. Delivery vehicles don't block main thoroughfares."

Rating:
Summary: Ting-a-ling!
Review: Ever since I picked up Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle last spring, I have been a fan of Vonnegut. I love his way of meandering through a text. Timequake, more than any other book I have read of his, seems to wander all over the place. As with his other novels, this book is founded upon a bizarre plot, but this time the plot seems to be present only to allow Vonnegut a platform for reminiscing.

I was kind of confused at the beginning of the book; I couldn't quite make out what was going on. When I stopped trying to analyze things and listen to what he was saying, though, I began to enjoy myself. I've found that most of his books start out absurdly funny, but then become quite touching. This book apparently will be his last, and it is fitting that the subject of the text touch on death. His epilogue made me smile sadly ...

Like other reviewers, I would not recommend that this be the first Vonnegut book you read. I've really enjoyed Slaughterhouse Five, Cat's Cradle, and Hocus Pocus (to name a few). If you are a Vonnegut fan, though, this is a fantastic book! His style is unlike any other. Just sit back and enjoy the ride!

Rating:
Summary: Somebody shoot me while I'm happy....
Review: I am glad that I invested two late summer afternoons in rereading this novel. It fit my mood perfectly (i.e., gaily mournful.) In fact I found myself looking up from the pages and paraphrasing the author himself, "If this isn't nice, then what is?" Perhaps this is because I've always identified more with Vonnegut and his generation than my own. I understand the sense of mourning and absurdity that he gets from our brave new corporate world.

Vonnegut revisits so many of his old characters and themes in this book. It is a fitting reunion for a last novel. Most notable is the reintroduction of Kilgore Trout. Trout becomes a global hero, loved by all, before he dies. Perhaps then, there is hope for us all. You also find such familiar themes as the need for extended families (artificial or otherwise.) Also, that perhaps people should treat each other a little nicer and help each other get through this mess- whatever it is. And that maybe socialism isn?t such a bad word- and Eugene Debs deserves to be honored as an American Hero. As a matter of fact the author proposes four new humanist amendments to the constitution that I would ratify in a New York minute.

As for his concept of a Time Quake (people consciously reliving their lives without the ability to change anything, but only observe) well, some say that is what happens when we all pass over. We get to observe all of those mistakes, and then return a little wiser in an attempt to do better next time. Or maybe that?s just a work of fiction, too. I think not. Perhaps, his character, Dr. Fleon Sunoco, the mad scientist, was right about little radios in the brains of genius's picking up bright ideas from somewhere else....

Ting-a-ling!

Rating:
Summary: If you are a fan of Vonnegut's ideas, you'll enjoy this.
Review: If you are looking for a plot, rising action or deep characters, don't read this. For those of us who have been Vonnegut fans, it reads like a Bible of his ideas. The best parts of a good number of his novels are the prologues. This book is a 195 page prologue, with about 10 pages of fiction. I had the opportunity to read Timequake back in July, (about three months before its offical release date) and I was thrilled when I reached the final page. Many of his devoted readers find his humanistic ideas to be the best stuff he writes. This book holds more of that than any other he has written. His ideas on his own age and demise as a writer add a ton to this beautiful farewell to the philosophy of Kurt Vonnegut. If you are unfamilar with him, and looking for a great book to start on, go back to Slaughterhouse-Five, Sirens of Titan or Cat's Cradle. If you are familiar with his stuff, this book simply serves as a great companion piece to his other books.

Rating:
Summary: Not so Hot
Review: It has been my experience that when you are reading Vonnegut lit, you have either picked up a hit or a miss. In the case ofr Timequake, you've picked up one of his misses, I am a true fan of this zany author, but this time his self "heoroizing" and annoying jargon got to my last nerve. I finished the book for the purpose of not wanting to finish it later, but it wasn't the best time i ever spent. All reading is good reading and this had it laughs and abstrack story lines, but all in all it was the worste book of Vonnegut's I've read. For the record i have read nearly ten, so i have so opinion on this.

Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut has changed over all the years, but still great
Review: Many people seemed a little disappointed with this book because it just didn't "feel" like one of the classic Vonnegut books. That's fine though. He's been cranking out books for nearly half a century, and in the twilight of his career shouldn't he write a different book? I probably wouldn't recommend this book to be someone's first exposure to Kurt Vonnegut, but if you love his work then there is little doubt you will love this book.

He gives the readers even more random musings than usual, and also gives a lot more of his personal history than ever before. He discusses being a "humanist" in really one of the most simplest yet profound brief exchanges he has ever created. Some parts of the book almost feel like he just wants to throw in random thoughts or paragraphs that didn't have a proper home in past books. This really works, though. The odd structure of jumping back and forth time creates the perfect home in this book for all these thoughts.

If this is his last book, it's an interesting way to end it all and not a disappointment at all.

Rating:
Summary: Timequake: a great way to say goodbye
Review: Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut is a book placed in the years 2001 to 19991 and back to 2001 again, this will become clearer later on in the review. The world is about to suffer a timequake, the universe has not decided whether or not it wants to keep on expanding or shrivel up and die. The universe is zapped back ten years and then it decides to continue expanding, however it must go over the ten years that it zapped itself back from all over again. During the rerun as it is called in the book, everyone is forced to do everything all over again exactly as the did it before the rerun. The story follows Kurt Vonnegut's alter ego, author Kilgore Trout through his journey through the timequake.
Timequake is filled with the sarcastic humor that Kurt Vonnegut is known and loved for. Almost every chapter contains some sort of analogy or joke that will make you chuckle as you read across the page. Vonnegut's unconventional style of writing keeps you immensely interested in the book. He skips from subject to subject in every chapter, also every chapter seems to have its own moral and lesson as opposed to there being only one or two morals in the entire novel. His style of writing could even be described as him telling the reader of some of his and his characters past experiences, with no sort of chronological order, most of his thoughts are completely random, yet incredibly funny. One funny thing in the novel is how Vonnegut refers to World War One and World War Two as "humanities unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide." The rest of the book is packed with things as funny and even funnier from page one.
This novel is much more than the simple fiction story, as Vonnegut fans have learned to expect, but more of a journey through which you grow more and more thoughtful with every turn of the page. He sways your opinions and makes you consider sides of the story you never knew existed on subjects such as society, war, poverty, life, and love. He truly bedazzles readers time and time again. He introduces crazy theories, as he has done in many of his other novels, and thus keeps you thinking and interested. You can always discover something new or go into an idea even further every time you read the novel.
This novel is a gift to everyone who reads, it packs everything that you want from a book, humor, an deep thesis, drama, and is even more. It truly is a book that gets you thinking about things you never even thought you would think about and leaves you pondering his theories even after you have finished the text. This unfortunately is Kurt Vonnegut's final book, however even if this is true he has certainly gone out with a bang. I highly recommend this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Declining powers
Review: Timequake is not one of Kurt Vonnegut's better books.

For serious fans of Mr. Vonnegut's work, the book's publication in 1997 felt like discovering a bit more of a great meal left in the kitchen after you thought it was all gone, a final taste of something wonderful. But upon a recent re-reading Timequake, I have realized that, objectively speaking, this is the product of a great writer in possession of declining powers, a volume that is predictable while puzzlingly swinging between memoir and fiction.

On the surface, the storyline is classic Vonnegut: there's a "time quake" that means that everyone in the world is forced to relive every second of every day between 1991 and 2001, but they are unable to change a moment of that unfortunate decade. Of course, he introduces himself and his alter ego Kilgore Trout into the story, and unusual situations abound.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it doesn't come off nearly as cleanly as similarly unusual storylines in Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, and The Sirens of Titan do. In the end, when Timequake doesn't feel forced -- not a word I would use for any of Mr. Vonnegut's other novels -- it feels like the author is simply going through the motions.

There are bits and pieces of the story that revive the nostalgia that readers of Mr. Vonnegut's better books may be looking for. But for the uninitiated, there are better places to start.

Rating:
Summary: Gutsy and Different: One of my favorite Vonnegut titles
Review: Timequake is... different. You won't find another story out there that is constructed like this one. Why do I give it 5 stars? Because that takes guts, but mostly because vonnegut pulls it off. It's a very difficult thing to change the underlying form of storytelling... most readers don't like it. They get caught up in the presentation of the story and forget to pay attention to what's happening.

Well, Timequake is non-linear and wild. It is chaotic, but not in the sense of being poorly written. It's chaotic in the same way that a handful of diamonds thrown into a salad mixer would be chaotic; fascinating, somewhat worrisome, and in an odd way brilliant.

I would recommend Timequake to Vonnegut fans, certainly, but also to any serious reader or writer of fiction. Use it as a lesson in thinking outside of the norm. There's a lot to be learned from Timequake.