Mother Night | 
"What froze me was the fact that I had absolutely no reason to move in any direction. What made me move through so many dead and pointless years was curiosity.
Now even that had flickered out."
Another book from my "shed years". It seemed very wry and humorous when I first read it. The world has changed since then. Nothing funny about it anymore. The despair and the banality of the insane around us is amplified.
pickGod DAMN. Okay, I get it, y'all were right. Vonnegut is an amazing writer and I'm so glad I didn't give up on him. As well as my father, I have the reading community at large to think for encouraging my persistence, any other author, three meh reads would have ended my interest, but there's such love for this writer's body of work, and such a variety in subject matter, it always felt worth another try. 1/?
pick“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
American Howard Campbell is brought up on charges of war crimes as a Nazi propagandist, 15 years after the war ended. Is he guilty or was he a pawn? In classic absurdist Vonnegut fashion, Campbell becomes a hero for US white supremacy groups. It‘s been a while since I read any Vonnegut, but this one felt more somber and realistic compared to others I‘ve read.
"'And the Republic's demands were framed so as to be educational, too - teaching that a propagandist of my sort was as much a murderer as Heydrich, Eichmann, Himmler, or any of the gruesome rest.
"That may be so. I had hoped, as a broadcaster, to be merely ludicrous, but this is a hard world to be ludicrous in, with so many human beings so reluctant to laugh, so incapable of thought, so eager to believe and snarl and hate..."
pickThis one is a reread. One of my book besties wanted to tackle it after reading Seven Moons and we realized we could barely remember it. I think this seemed more epic before I read all the satire that came later. It's still pretty epic. Vonnegut is the OG for sure. Also, when did I get so old that my own books have old book smell?
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
This was a comedy when I first read it some decades ago. Not funny now. Way too close to home. We've become this nightmare.
pickIt‘s one of those things that reminded me that though the present circumstances of modern life are different in many ways we‘re basically the same way people were in the past.
pick“Be careful who you pretend to be”
A really great story. Remarkably readable like the rest of his work.
pickI read this just before visiting the Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library with my nephew and was reminded of the trauma Vonnegut experienced as a POW during WWII. The book is written as a memoir of a Nazi accused of war crimes who claims to have been an American spy. It lacked the satirical tone of many of his other books, but was a powerful exploration of motives versus actions. Which matters more?
Also if you‘re ever in Indy don‘t miss this museum!
pickThis book was on my TBR list for a long time, and finally I got to it. It was chilling and depressing, but also strangely comforting. I can‘t explain why I felt calm after finishing it. Horrific “shades of gray”, rhetoric that happens even now chilling one‘s heart with eerie resemblance to the past. But everything ends. But we didn‘t learn a thing, did we?
“Oh, God— the lives people try to lead.
Oh, God —what a world they try to lead them in!”
pickI actually liked this book a lot!!! I was worried about reading it at first because I have never read anything by this author before. I give it a 4/5 stars. This is book #3 of the 32 books mentioned in Criminal Minds or read by Dr. Spencer Reid list.
#BookCoverChallenge
Day 196.
Here I will note 365 books (or as many as I will have before I get tired) that have shaped my taste in literature. No explanations, no reviews. Just the cover of the book.
I do not challenge anyone. You are all welcome to take part.
Been awhile. Found this quote from Vonnegut incredibly relatable in regard to folks who accuse me of "hating America."
Vonnegut March Madness! Who you got?!?!
pickMy wife's favorite book at the time that we met. The MC is an American citizen raised in Germany who becomes a major figure in the Nazi Party; however, unbeknownst to most at the time, he had been recruited by the Americans as a spy prior to the start of WWII and provided the Allies with codes that allowed them to read the Nazi's radio transmissions. The central question- does pretending to do evil in the name of good still make one evil?
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." One of Vonnegut‘s most famous quotes references our protagonist - Howard W. Campbell, Jr - who briefly appears in Slaughterhouse-Five. Nazi propagandist/American spy and one half of a "Nation of Two,” this is his story. Vonnegut‘s dark humor at its finest. #reread
so-soAmerican Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? He was recruited by Americans to spy on Nazis while pretending to be a Nazi. Vonnegut‘s quote about the novel - “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
Thank you for this #Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView and thank you for the tag, @ravenlee 😊
1. I never actually stopped to count them before! Turns out the answer is... 12! 😳🤦🏻♂️🙈
2. Tagged!
Anyone else who would like to play, consider yourself tagged! 😀
pickI've only read “Slaughterhouse-5“ before, but I guess I can already call Vonnegut a favourite author of mine. “Mother Night“ includes all the things I liked about Slaughterhouse, but still is a totally different book. And even more: an unreliable narrator. I love those!
pickAn American man who worked for the Nazis claims he was actually a spy for the Allies. Can anyone believe a word he says?
This book could not be more clever if it tried. Brief, yet perfectly formed.
And there was a strange moment in the text with a talking cat. Really.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Look who's backsliding into book-buying again!
I'm poised to go on a real Vonnegut tear as soon as I finish my other reading.
Vonnegut! Turning everything on it‘s head once again. Is who we pretend to be who we really are or are we someone else?? (I‘ll let you know😉)
pickI read this between Jan 19 & 21. I gave it 4 ⭐️ on GoodReads. There are a lot of words about why you should read Kurt Vonnegut. And you should as he is able to write a social commentary that doesn‘t come across as if he is trying to shove his morals down your throat.
DAY 11 (a day late): In honor of yesterday being Kurt Vonnegut‘s birthday, I had to share a shelfie of my #forever favorite author! 🧡
#nofemmeber
pickBeautiful concepts of nation of two and ambiguity of morality vs intention. Very Vonnegut and not a book that will linger with you, but you‘ll be glad to have read it
Next book club is coming soon I aim to finish this within the week!!
Next up...for book club. The copy from the library is so worn it is taped together.
"...this is a hard world to be ludicrous in, with so many human beings so reluctant to laugh, so incapable of thought, so eager to believe and snarl and hate."
Let's hope 2018 can have just a touch more laughter and a lot more love. Life is better with smiles and hugs. ?
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
pick#knowyourenemy could simply refer to the Nazis in this novel. But when is Vonnegut ever simple? Howard Campbell Jr., Nazi propagandist and American spy may have helped win WWII for the United States, but there's a cost to playing a part too well that Campbell's confession describes. Somehow both sharply funny and grimly serious simultaneously. Also, depressingly relevant to current issues in the U.S. #rocktober @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.
"We kept our bottle hidden, since we did not care to share it." - Mother Night by Vonnegut ??
pickFantastically written. The story is fitting for events occurring in the news now. Funny how Vonnegut is able to do that so often. The narration was acceptable.
pickA complex and difficult read. Darkly funny it proves reveals satires deepest truth, that there can be humour in the darkest of events and pathos in the most ridiculous. It's the human condition and Vonnegut masterfully writes empathetic, wicked, ambivalent, human characters. Mother Night painfully explores the relationship between action, intention and responsibility and our ability to create "several selves" and the difficulty of reconciling them
My essential supplies for the day, coffee, cough syrup, brownies and books 😷
"Where's evil? It's that large part of every man that wants to hate without limit, that wants to hate with God on its side. It's that part of every man that finds all kinds of ugliness attractive. It's that part of an imbecile," I said, "that punishes and vilifies and makes war gladly."
