Book 28 : Jailbird - Kurt Vonnegut

I don't know what to say about Vonnegut that I haven't said before.

Jailbird, like everything I've read by Vonnegut, was filled with subtle humor and scathing attacks on the hypocrisy and overall ridiculousness of society in general. It told the story of a man who'd been jailed after Watergate and his first few days after being released.

I've been trying to write a summary of the plot for 20 minutes now. It's Vonnegut. I can't summarize the plot. It's simply not possible - and it's really not the point. The point is that the man is all about making awesome jokes that I'm into and saying really relevant and clever things that I'm also into. Such as :

Thus I discovered that the bottom drawer contained seven incomplete clarinets - without cases, mouthpieces, or bells.
Life is like that sometimes.

* * * *

"Or maybe it isn't worth it," she said.
She was talking about rescuing the people of the United States from their economy, but I thought she was talking about life in general. So I said about life in general that it probably was worth it, but that it did seem to go on a little too long.

I just realized that taken out of context, neither of those quotes are very compelling. I guess you'll have to take my word for it that in context, their power would compel you!

I'm not sure why I gave this 7/10. I did enjoy reading it but it wasn't my favorite of the works I've read by Vonnegut and I don't think it'd be one that I would recommend as a starting point.


Overall I think it was fun to read but I doubt that it will stick with me for long.

7/10
YTD:
Books read : 28
Pages read : 8,315
Currently reading : The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter - Katherine Anne Porter & The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara