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Slapstick/Mother Night
- GenresFiction
Audio Cassette
First published January 1, 1976
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265 people want to read
About the author
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
710 books37.1k followersKurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.
He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.
After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.
His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.
Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)
He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.
After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.
His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.
Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 26, 2012
Kurt Vonnegut is at his height with Mother Night though it was never his most iconic like "Slaughter house five" though Mother Night is personally one of his best books I've read from him. As it circles around the profound situation of a man questioning his authenticity. Constantly asking the begging question. If one acts differently from how one thinks, dose it cease to matter what one thinks, if they're the only one who's witness to their opinion.
November 8, 2023
Enjoyed the raw detail. Want to reread before book club.
September 6, 2016
En "Mother Night" Kurt Vonnegut se hace pasar por el ditor de las memorias de un propagandista nazi.
Mediante su relato nos deja un comentario sobre la guerra y la posguerra, así como una descripción de la filosofía del pensamiento que permitió a los nazis realizar las atrocidades por todos conocidas.
En la ruta a su juicio el Mayor Campbell colecta sus memorias buscando desganadamente desarrollar una apología poco esperada.
Una lectura entretenida que te deja con un vacío al mostrar la futilidad de la humanidad.
Mediante su relato nos deja un comentario sobre la guerra y la posguerra, así como una descripción de la filosofía del pensamiento que permitió a los nazis realizar las atrocidades por todos conocidas.
En la ruta a su juicio el Mayor Campbell colecta sus memorias buscando desganadamente desarrollar una apología poco esperada.
Una lectura entretenida que te deja con un vacío al mostrar la futilidad de la humanidad.
August 23, 2010
one of vonneguts weirdest, but best books in my opinion. a post apocalyptic look back on the life of the character telling the story. its about him and his sister growing up as monsters and his seperation from his twin. and his rise to power. if you are used to vonneguts odd sense of humor and borderline sci fi style, you'll like this book.
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March 25, 2013Alas. I only got a little more than half-way through before abandoning this. The forward was my favourite part of this book. I got it, I just didn't care that I got it. The grotesque cavalcade was relentless and depressing and I just couldn't hold on long enough to see it played out.
March 6, 2016
I enjoyed Mother Night, although it is definitely not a "feel good" kind of novel. As far as Slapstick, it seems like some weird, free association exercise. It is rather telling that when Vonnegut rated his own works he rated Slapstick as a D.
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August 17, 2015Very quick read. Short chapters. A bit bizarre of a book. An interesting book, but bizarre!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews