Mother Night - Kurt Vonnegut

[Dosed]

Has anyone else read this? I really, really enjoyed it. In fact I think it was my favourite Vonnegut book I've read so far. That being said I've only read Slaughterhouse V and Breakfast of Champions so far. I do actually intend to read his entire fictional works so that could very easily change.

I think I liked the fact that this one was a bit more grounded and not quite as zany as the others I've read. Don't get me wrong, I really like the oddity of the other two I've read, but it was a nice change in style and quite refreshing. Are the rest of works as grounded? Or will we I be zipping across time and space and watching Vonnegut get personally involved in his stories again? I don't mind either way I'd just like to know.

I also had no idea what the novel was about until I started reading it so I liked the fact it had so many twists and turns, and it genuinely had me guessing as to what would be revealed next. It also hit on a lot of other themes which intrigue me in general, like the reasoning behind human behaviour and emotional responses, and how we are constantly attempting to define and categorise nations and races by their historical actions rather than viewing the people of those nations as actual humans who lived through these tragedies.

Anyone else enjoy this novel? Or hate it?

[TheLastBaron]

I enjoyed it a lot. Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors, I'm pretty sure I've read every book he's written at least once at some point in my life, and some multiple times. Mother Night I liked, though it's not my favorite book by his (probably Cat's Cradle), it's also definitely the most depressing book by him. As far as "Are the rest of works as grounded? Or will we I be zipping across time and space and watching Vonnegut get personally involved in his stories again?" it's mostly the latter.

[Dosed]

I'm not sure why but I didn't feel as depressed about Mother Night as the other two books I've read. I think it was because Campbell (the protagonist) seems far more realistic and human than the other protagonists, and I ended up not feeling sorry for him because he seemed so fleshed out whereas the other protagonists seemed pretty doomed from the start and their fates seem more engineered. Campbell knew what he was getting into and he chose to carry it out; because he's more heroic I felt less inclined to pity him and more inclined to respect him. Unlike, say, Kilgore Trout who is just a complete whacko from the outset and we're told that's pretty much all he will amount to.

[shammack]

I haven't read Mother Night, but if you're looking for non-zany, I seem to recall God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Bluebeard, and Hocus Pocus as being more on the "grounded" side of things.

[Nappi]

I have read ten of his novels so far. Of those God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine is probably the closest in style to Mother Night. I aim to read the rest of his novels soon. I tried to preorder the new edition/print of Bluebeard recently, but Amazon eventually cancelled my order and now that edition seems to have vanished entirely. I guess some of his less known book are a bit harder to acquire.

[Nappi]

I finished Bluebeard yesterday and can heartily recommend to you if you liked Mother Night. In fact, it is has got to be one of my favorite Kurt Vonnegut novels ever.