TWIB-II 52: 9/29-10/5
Oct. 17th, 2008 03:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanAgain, one book this week. Japan is killing my Standard Reading Velocity.
1) The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut
I believe this was Vonnegut's second novel. It is also something of an odd fish for me: while I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of the narrative, something about the finale just did not sit right with me. Perhaps it's that things wrap up too quickly in comparison with the build-up to Constant's return to earth. Perhaps it's that Vonnegut is so obviously trying to Make A Point with the McGuffin of Salo's suitcase and its big reveal, in comparison to all the other points he makes earlier, gracefully and effortlessly, in the preceding pages. Or perhaps it's that I can't help but draw comparisons between the final one-third and The Hitchhiker's Trilogy, even though The Sirens of Titan obviously predated--and influenced--that series.
Which isn't to say that I dislike this book. On the contrary, it definitely ranks in the upper half of my favorite Vonnegut works. That said, it does fall a bit short for me, especially considering the genius of many of his later novels.
That will be all.
1) The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut
I believe this was Vonnegut's second novel. It is also something of an odd fish for me: while I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of the narrative, something about the finale just did not sit right with me. Perhaps it's that things wrap up too quickly in comparison with the build-up to Constant's return to earth. Perhaps it's that Vonnegut is so obviously trying to Make A Point with the McGuffin of Salo's suitcase and its big reveal, in comparison to all the other points he makes earlier, gracefully and effortlessly, in the preceding pages. Or perhaps it's that I can't help but draw comparisons between the final one-third and The Hitchhiker's Trilogy, even though The Sirens of Titan obviously predated--and influenced--that series.
Which isn't to say that I dislike this book. On the contrary, it definitely ranks in the upper half of my favorite Vonnegut works. That said, it does fall a bit short for me, especially considering the genius of many of his later novels.
That will be all.