“Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone..” This book is about a disruption in the time continuum, but at it's heart, it's soo soo much more. It meanders it's way through reminisces of war, a childhood spent in Indianapolis, ex-wives, family members, science fiction, dark jokes, and so much more. Vonnegut is the master at spinning a tale which seemingly takes the reader through a wandering labyrinth, only to discover at the end that it weaved a beautiful web in the process ("some pig" indeed). Describing this book is a fool's errand. Just read it because it's Vonnegut and it's quotable and funny and dark and wonderful. So it goes.

Timequake. One sees the word and thinks what an amazing concept. Why did I not think of it. Well, there are a couple of books with the title. And when in doubt Philip K. Dick was the one who came up with it.

Now, this is not really about a timequake. We have just another book by Vonnegut. Autobiographical. Lots of little stories about and of his Alter Ego Kilgore Trout. Lots of little stories about this and that, lots of quotations, some even made up by him.

Very amusing and you can read a paragraph or two and you do not have to care about any bigger story you might not grasp. There is none. (And if there is one, I did not get it.) A book for the iPhone generation. An attention span of 77 seconds should be enough to read this.

I am not making fun, mind you. It is a wonderful book. To give just two examples.

He quotes Eugene Debs (a socialist candidate for the presidency of a long-gone era) with this: "While there is a lower class I am in it, while there is a criminal element I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

And Vonnegut tells us that before quoting it he tells his audience it is to be taken seriously. Because it could be perceived as "outdated, wholly discredited horsecrap. ---- Which it is not."

And he tells us that he discussed with William Styron the question of how many people lived a life worth living. They came up with 17%.

This is wonderful. It is also quite stupid. But made me think for a long time. It means there are people you know who live a good life. And a lot who do not. It is stupid and profound at the same time. The sign of a great truth. (One could start a religion based on the number.)

Llegado al final de sus días, y ante la certeza de una muerte que le ronda, Vonnegut hizo uso de un artificio de ciencia ficción, el cronomoto, para rememorar su vida y sus ideas. En principio el cronomoto fuerza a los habitantes del planeta a revivir los hechos de los últimos diez años, sin embargo Vonnegut extiende el recuerdo mucho más atrás, rememorando a sus antepasados, y su llegada a EEUU, el cambio o no de sus costumbres y su modo de vida, su relación con su familia, sus amigos, su participación en la Segunda Guerra Mundial... y todo lo que rodea a su alter ego, Kilgore Trout.

A mitad de camino entre la ficción y la autobiografía, no se puede dar por sentado qué es cierto y qué no. Sólo dejarse llevar por este compendio de ideas para relatos y textos que no llegó a escribir. Una serie de pensamientos frenéticos que conectan al lector con los grandes temas del autor de Cuna de gato y Madrenoche: el sinsentido de la vida, las continuas contradicciones de la naturaleza humana, el humor como herramienta para quebrar el tedio vital, la estupidez de muchas convenciones y comportamientos establecidos, la ilusión del progreso... De ahí que me parezca un libro exclusivamente recomendado para lectores de Vonnegut con ganas de llevarse una nueva dosis de su particular visión cínica de la existencia.

A lot like Groundhog Day...interesting questions raised about the nature of time and space. All I need say is that this is KV take on time travel (TT); that alone made me want to read this book. Some very interesting twists here; I always like to read how different authors handle TT - even if it repeats itself.

My advice is read this after you've read more Vonnegut.

I think the memoir/Kilgore Trout stuff would be more enjoyable if I were more familiar with his work. As it stands, I've read maybe 5 of his books - but he was pretty prolific. (Welcome to the Monkey House, Slaughter House V, Mother Night, Cat's Cradle, and this one. ...Maybe one more...)

I've picked up on some of his socialist themes before, but in here he takes it up a notch or two. I don't know if I ever really understood him in that light before.

Socialism is no more an evil word than Christianity - the both prescribe a society where all men, women, and children are created equal and shall not starve.

And here's a quote from a commencement speech he gave at Bennington College in 1970:

"So let's divide up the wealth more fairly than we have divided it up so far. Let's make sure that everybody has enough to eat, and a decent place to live, and medical help when he needs it. Let's stop spending money on weapons, which don't work anyway, thank God, and spend money on each other. It isn't moonbeams to talk of modest plenty for all. They have it in Sweden. We can have it here. Dwight David Eisenhower once pointed out that Sweden, with its many utopian programs, had a high rate of alcoholism and suicide and youthful unrest. Even so, I would like to see America try socialism. If we start drinking heavily and killing ourselves, and if our children start acting crazy, we can go back to good old Free Enterprise again."

The book itself was a bit too all over the place for me. But a couple of the things he said kept tugging at me - like not writing for everyone else, but writing for himself. Is that not what every goodreads review is? Are we out here thinking about and writing about books for people or for ourselves? I imagine most of us appreciate the occasional kudo, but we're doing it because we enjoy it. Much like the reading of the book itself.

And his lefty tirades made me smile. We're living in an era when the world wants us to believe Socialism is Communism, and that there were never thoughtful, Patriotic American socialists out there. But Vonnegut is hailing from the land of Eugene Debs. And he lets us know it.

قدیس کسی است که در یک جامعه مبتذل، با شرافت زندگی می‌کند.‌

Durchaus unterhaltsam plätschert die Geschichte dahin, während Vonnegut Bonmots, kurze Geschichten, kluge Aphorismen und ein bisschen Quatsch aneinanderreiht. Das ist alles ganz nett, weil Vonnegut ein Typ ist, den man einfach immer lesen kann aber im Vergleich zu seinen richtigen Roman ist es natürlich ein Nichts.

3,5 αστέρια

"Ting-a-ling, motherfucker.” - Kilgore Trout

This semi-autobiographical “stew” is kind of bonkers, but I liked it. A must read for established fans.

La última novela de n   Kurt VONNEGUT Jr.n me dejó un tanto decepcionado. A diferencia de sus trabajos previos, donde el caos es planeado y llega un momento en el que las cosas coalescen y toman sentido, aquí el caos no es más que eso. Si bien el concepto del "tiempomoto" (o "Cronomoto" como le pusieron a la edición en español) me parece muy original, y la descripción de lo que sucede el momento justo en que termina el intervalo de diez años es muy impresionante (me recordó una serie de TV, creo que se llama "Fast-Forward"); la mezcla entre la versión 1 y la 2 de la novela, los intervalos autobiográficos reales y los de su alter-ego Kilgore Trout, me resultaron confusos e innecesarios. Este libro no es uno de sus mejores de sus libros, ni siquiera es realmente una novela, es una serie de reflexiones y frases ingeniosas que saltan de un tema a otro.

Is Timequake a novel? A memoir? A philosophical essay? A stand-up routine? A little of each, as it turns out. Vonnegut set out to write a science fiction novel about the eponymous "Timequake": a phenomenon that causes everyone on Earth to re-live the past ten years of their lives, aware that they're caught in a re-run, but unable to do or say anything differently than they did the first time around. Which is a terrific sci-fi premise (and a great metaphor for those times when we feel like we have no control over our lives), but Vonnegut couldn't work out the manuscript to his satisfaction. So instead, he pulled out the bits that he liked and interspersed them with observations about the process of writing the story, and the people and events in his own life that influenced it. It's like a director's commentary for a movie that never got made. At first, the mix of story and meta-story seems random, but as Vonnegut (and his in-story alter ego, Kilgore Trout) dips into and out of the narrative, recurring patterns and themes start to emerge. Admittedly, it's familiar territory to Vonnegut readers: the paradoxical mix of optimism and despair, raging against the injustices of the world while trying to live in the moment ("If this isn't nice, what is?"). And of course there's plenty of his trademark sardonic wit, and a couple of dirty jokes. I wouldn't recommend it to readers who like their narratives straight up without a lot of author intrusion (in this case, it's more like the narrative only occasionally intrudes on the author). But if you're in the mood to watch a master wordsmith and raconteur at work (while looking over his own shoulder and providing a running commentary), then step right up.

In honor of having finally finished my favorite author's very last novel, here's a list of what I've learned from his books:

Player Piano: We should control the machines, not the other way around.

The Sirens of Titan: Life is an adventure, and it's all about being happy.

Mother Night: Little people can get sucked into big things. That doesn't make it alright.

Cat's Cradle: We're going to blow ourselves up!

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: Money is God to dumb people. Family is God to smart people.

Slaughterhouse Five: It's better to lose your mind than go to war.

Breakfast of Champions: The world is hilarious and unpredictable. Take a look around!

Slapstick: If we all treated each other as family, the world would be a better place.

Jailbird: The government makes no sense, and neither does anything else.

Deadeye Dick: Fate isn't always pretty.

Galapagos: We have adapted and evolved into monsters.

Bluebeard: Art is beautiful, and a great way to screw around.

Hocus Pocus: We all need to get over ourselves already!

Timequake: Humans are so special, which is why it's such a shame that we keep blowing ourselves up.


I still have a lot more Vonnegut to read, between his short stories, essays, and letters, but it's sad to know that I'm done with his novels. I never thought I'd say this, but I might just read them again someday.