Mother Night
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Follow me as I guide you through the brilliant Vonnegut pantheon in order of my favorite books I’ve read thus far:
I think this is a good litmus test to determine if you like Vonnegut’s wackadoodle mix of philosophy & science fiction. I lost my Vonnegut-card to this one, so it has a soft spot in my heart.
This is a favorite of mine because of its inventive take on religion, explored through the lens of a religion he makes up: Bokononism.
If you already like Vonnegut, you’ll probably like this. He gets even more experimental and I like his exploration on humanity’s free will or lack thereof.
This is a good choice if you’ve read something by Vonnegut previously but you still feel lukewarm on him. It’s his collection of short stories, and each wield his distinctive combination of philosophy with cuckoo bananas.
A clever portrayal of the end of the world. Vonnegut’s personal connections to this story, which he describes in the prologue, make this book even more meaningful to me.
Mother Night
The book that this review is about. More on that soon.
Galapagos
I read this a couple of years ago and forgot to review it. That’s my bad. Just trust me— it’s a philosophical exploration of evolution.
Not my favorite Vonnegut because the characters aren’t as memorable to me, but still good because he can do no wrong.
I genuinely hope that this list helps you, because I think that Vonnegut is mandatory reading. He’s just one of those authors that you really need to read. He has become my go-to philosopher over the years. I know I’m annoying and it sounds like he’s my cult leader. But really, reading Vonnegut’s work has helped me refine my own beliefs about the world. He’s helped me articulate what I value in terms of spirituality, politics, socially, etc. He’s also funny as hell; there’s a lightness to his serious stuff.
So, Mother Night is my latest Vonnegut, and it doesn’t disappoint. The plot is a bit tighter than some his other work, although I don’t really care either way. It’s about a (fictional) Nazi propogandist who writes about his experiences as he awaits trial for war crimes in Israel.
Vonnegut tells us the “moral of the story” from the start: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” Like damn…that’s a lot to unpack. Now I’m fully equipped for my first post-pandemic therapy session.
Once again, Vonnegut led me to question my own conception of ethics and justice as he gently dispersed some dark humor. Mother Night receives 4 out of 5 flames.
