Mother Night: A Novel
by Kurt Vonnegut
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Book Reviews of Mother Night: A Novel
Book Review: "Um," I said.
Summary: 5 Stars
Here is the fictional autobiography of Howard W. Campbell, Jr., as given by the awesome Vonnegut.
Without giving away key plot points, I'll recommend this book right off the bat. Here is Vonnegut, yes if you can believe it, decrying the state of humanity, witfully and ironically too. There is a given moral sense to Mother Night, which Vonnegut states in the Introduction: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be."
And Mother Night is a story of how Howard W. Campbell, Jr. and his associates must and do and will deal with said moral.
Mother Night is quite moving, in the way that so much Vonnegut is; in that here is a hero or anti-hero, a lead if you will, who is shaped rather than shapes his or her time. And how that shaping baffles, sparkles, crushes, devoures, stimulates and paralyzes.
Given an opportunity to be someone else, and taken to the fullest, for a good cause (or not), where are you then? You only have yourself....in the end....to blame....
Again, highly recommended.
Book Review: The most readable of Vonnegut's books.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have tried to read Vonnegut's books on many occasions, and have never been able to finish them. I found _Mother Night_ to be very readable...
First, it is a short book. The author's style adds to this by the wonder of the 1-2 page chapter.
Next, I found myself much more interested in the story he tells here than in others I have attempted.
So, what's this book all about? It tells the tale of a man who served the Nazis in his heart and in his very being as a radio propagandist. However, this man was an American by birth and was solicited by the American government to serve as a spy, sending coded messages through the very same radio broadcasts in which he mocked and criticized American actions (especially Franklin Delano Rosenfeld). We read his "memoirs" as he sits in a Jerusalem jail in 1961. We discover what he has lost over the course of the war and the afterwar era.
As I said, I enjoyed this book, both for its story and for the writing used. It's an enjoyable read!
Book Review: Heil Vonnegut....
Summary: 4 Stars
I began reading Vonnegut on the suggestion of one of my English teachers. Thus, far I have read six of his novels. Mother Night is the first one I've read which has any possibility of actually occuring (it's not science fiction).
An American living in Germany becomes a spy for the Allies, loses everything that matters, thinks he regains it, then is crushed once more! Dark humor. check. Odd love scenes. check. great style. uncheck.
The novels that made Vonnegut a name for himself such as Cat's Cradle and Slaughter-House Five are certaintly amiss here. His anthropologist side even faded a little bit. In fact, some of the plot was so cheesy it was strange to remind myself that one of my favorite authors wrote it.
If you love Vonnegut pick this book up. It won't take long to read and you can decide for yourself. The book does deserve a 4/5 which is what I'm awarding it. It wins this due to just the right amount of cheek. However, I rather re-read Galapagos or Slapstick.
Book Review: Vonnegut at his most likeable
Summary: 5 Stars
Vonnegut is one of those writers whom everybody either loves or hates--there's very little middle ground. He's like vanilla Coke."Mother Night" is situated right on that narrow little line. It's a book that just about anyone can enjoy, even the most ardent foes of Indiana's favorite son. It was his third novel and, as such, represents the sort of pre-caricature phase that ended with the breakaway success of "Cat's Cradle" two years later. Here you see Vonnegut at his most human and, in some ways, his most vulnerable as he switches off the bombastic humor and lets his reader see the man behind the curtain.
Of course, the characteristic Vonnegut still shines through, but it's muted by a disarming candor about love lost and the stagnation it breeds. If you don't know anything about Vonnegut, this is a great place to start. If you love him, this book will make you melt. If you hate him, well, it might at least give you pause.
Book Review: You can take so much away from this book.
Summary: 5 Stars
Vonnegut tells the reader at the beginning of this book that it is one of his only books for which he knows the moral of the story - you are what you pretend to be.
In Mother Night, Vonnegut tells the story of Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American who lives in Germany prior to WWII and is recruited by the United States to act as a spy in Nazi Germany. Campbell becomes one of the most valuable Allied spies of the war, but acts as a Nazi radio propagandist during the war, serving the Nazis as well, or maybe even better, than he does the Allies.
The novel covers the fallout in Campbell's life from his decisions. It is a dark story, but it is told in a manner typical of Vonnegut, using humor and a free-form style to lighten the mood. You get to witness many characters' judgements of Campbell, but none are decisive. You are left to decide for yourself what you think of Campbell.
Fantastic. Highly recommended.