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Editorial Reviews
Second only to SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE of Vonnegut's canon in its prominence and influence, GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER (1965) presents Eliot Rosewater, an itinerant, semi-crazed millionaire wandering the country in search of heritage and philanthropic outcome, introducing the science fiction writer Kilgore Trout to the world and Vonnegut to the collegiate audience which would soon make him a cult writer. Trout, modeled according to Vonnegut on the science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon (with whom Vonnegut had an occasional relationship) is a desperate, impoverished but visionary hack writer who functions for Eliot Rosewater as both conscience and horrid example. Rosewater, seeking to put his inheritance to some meaningful use (his father was an entrepreneur) and tries to do good within the context of almost illimitable cynicism and corruption. It is in this novel that Rosewater wanders into a science fiction conference, an actual annual event in Milford, Pennsylvania and at the motel delivers his famous monologue evoked by science fiction writers and critics for almost half a century..."None of you can write for sour apples...but you're the only people trying to come to terms with the really terrific things which are happening today." Money does not drive Mr. Rosewater (or the corrupt lawyer who tries to shape the Rosewater fortune) so much as outrage at the human condition. The novel was adapted for a 1979 Alan Menken musical.
Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) is perhaps the most beloved American writer of the 20th century. His audience has built steadily since his first pieces in the 1950's. Vonnegut’s 1968 novel, SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE has become a canonic war novel - with Joseph Heller's CATCH-22 the truest and darkest of all to have come from World War II. Vonnegut began as a science fiction writer and his early novels PLAYER PIANO and THE SIRENS OF TITAN were so categorized even as they appealed to a young audience far beyond science fiction readers. In the 1960's he became the writer most identified with the Baby Boomer generation. Like the novels of Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut’s large body of work is now understood as unified. There is a consistency to his satirical insight, humor and anger which makes his work synergistic. The more of Kurt Vonnegut’s work you read, the more the work resonates and the more you wish to read. Vonnegut’s reputation - like Twain’s - will grow steadily through the decades to come as his work grows in relevance, truthfulness and searing insight.
Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) is perhaps the most beloved American writer of the 20th century. His audience has built steadily since his first pieces in the 1950's. Vonnegut’s 1968 novel, SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE has become a canonic war novel - with Joseph Heller's CATCH-22 the truest and darkest of all to have come from World War II. Vonnegut began as a science fiction writer and his early novels PLAYER PIANO and THE SIRENS OF TITAN were so categorized even as they appealed to a young audience far beyond science fiction readers. In the 1960's he became the writer most identified with the Baby Boomer generation. Like the novels of Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut’s large body of work is now understood as unified. There is a consistency to his satirical insight, humor and anger which makes his work synergistic. The more of Kurt Vonnegut’s work you read, the more the work resonates and the more you wish to read. Vonnegut’s reputation - like Twain’s - will grow steadily through the decades to come as his work grows in relevance, truthfulness and searing insight.
Related Reviews
There was something in Vonnegut's first rush of books that is lacking in his later novels. Although I enjoy his later books and for the life of me I can't say what this mystery quality is, whatever it is it tends to elevate even his minor books into affairs that are far more memorable than they tend to be. Maybe because the themes and images he's using here were new to him and he was still comparitively young . . . I don't know. It's not for me to say. This novel has a simple premise and a simple plot and moves unsurprisingly from point A to point B and yet I still have an incredibly enjoyable experience reading it, even though I finished it basically on my lunch break over the course of maybe an hour and a half. The premise then is that Eliot Rosewater has a lot of love to give to the world and spends most of his time doing very nice things for people who are almost pathetic enough to not deserve it, simply because he was born rich and feels he has a lot to give to the world. A lawyer, meanwhile wishes to prove that he is insane and has it in him to make quite the case. The book basically waffles back and forth between the lives of the various people Eliot helps, the comically depressing lives of some of these people, a little Rosewater family history and the lawyer's attempt to gather information on Eliot's apparent insanity. All of these pieces don't cohere into the great whole that his absolute best books (like Slaughterhouse-Five) do, but the pieces themselves are great fun and Vonnegut's humanity has never been as apparent here. It doesn't have the grim central event like the bombing of Dresden to put everything in context but somehow he manages to make the book moving and hilarious at the same time. The plot of course is slight and it's a fairly direct book, though the ending is about as abrupt as can be (and is mentioned in a later Vonnegut book I think, fortunately I forgot about it). This won't ever be regarded as one of his classics but even a minor work by an author working at his peak is worth another look and while the rewards here may not be as grand, they're simple and pleasant in their own small way.
The Tale of St. Eliot of Rosewater
Eliot Rosewater was the scion of an extremely wealthy family- his grandfather had even married a Rockefeller. Eliot stood to inherit control of the vast family fortune through the Rosewater Foundation (a legal entity constructed to shield that fortune from taxation.) But then Eliot went off to WW2 to become a highly decorated Captain of combat infantry. He served with men from all walks of life. Oh yes, he also accidentally bayoneted a 14-year old non-combatant, and afterwards tried to throw himself under a truck. After this he was never the same, much to his rich and powerful family's distress. While he did come back to graduate from Harvard Law and assume control of the foundation, he started behaving...irrationally. He started to actually use the money to HELP people! He also started drinking, wandering, and visiting volunteer firehouses- among other eccentricities.
Eventually, he ended up in Rosewater, Indiana- a depressed backwater that his family had long ago used up and abandoned to found the beginnings of their fortune. He found the people there to be without pride, without hope, without work. So he opened up an office over the liquor store in order to help anyone who needed his help. The sign on the door said simply, "Rosewater Foundation: How Can We Help You?" So Eliot Rosewater, philanthropist, poet, volunteer fireman, Harvard graduate, and drunk proceeded to help any and all that came to him for help.
Needless to say his family could not allow such insanity to continue. Why even Eliot's psychoanalyst came to the conclusion that Eliot was a pervert. The nature of his perversion being the fact that he had channeled all his psychic energy into bringing Utopia to earth for all those in need. What could be more abnormal in modern, capitalist society?
This is my absolute all time favorite Vonnegut novel- and I have read them all.
Oh yes, it also offers one of the best descriptions of the absurdity and injustice of the class system in the U.S. As one of the characters asks, who does run this crazy country? These cr**ps sure don't.
Eventually, he ended up in Rosewater, Indiana- a depressed backwater that his family had long ago used up and abandoned to found the beginnings of their fortune. He found the people there to be without pride, without hope, without work. So he opened up an office over the liquor store in order to help anyone who needed his help. The sign on the door said simply, "Rosewater Foundation: How Can We Help You?" So Eliot Rosewater, philanthropist, poet, volunteer fireman, Harvard graduate, and drunk proceeded to help any and all that came to him for help.
Needless to say his family could not allow such insanity to continue. Why even Eliot's psychoanalyst came to the conclusion that Eliot was a pervert. The nature of his perversion being the fact that he had channeled all his psychic energy into bringing Utopia to earth for all those in need. What could be more abnormal in modern, capitalist society?
This is my absolute all time favorite Vonnegut novel- and I have read them all.
Oh yes, it also offers one of the best descriptions of the absurdity and injustice of the class system in the U.S. As one of the characters asks, who does run this crazy country? These cr**ps sure don't.
Atypical but outstanding Vonnegut
Just as most of Vonnegut's novels follow a single character through a series of semi-plausible episodes, so does 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater'. However, unlike the others, this story does not rely on science fiction. Rather, it focuses on one man's struggle to affirm his sense of self against great odds. Seems like an appropriate theme in a society increasingly concerned with style and ignorant of substance.
It's not his best, but it's clearly Vonnegut
Okay, so God Bless You... may not be the the best thing Vonnegut's ever written, but Vonnegut on an off day is still well worth reading. This book has all his trademarks, from biting social commentary and blazing satire to dark humor and quirky characters. It's a speedy read that will make you both laugh and wince by turns. Don't make it the first Vonnegut book you read -- for that, I'd suggest Slaughterhouse 5 -- but if you're a fan give it a whirl.
With "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater", Vonnegut takes on the sordid issue of class. The main character, Eliot Rosewater, has inherited vast wealth, but feels lost and adrift until he moves to a small town and spends all his time giving "uncritical love" and money to the depressed, disenfranchised locals. His behavior completely mortifies his elitist Senator Father and psychologically troubled princess wife. It also allows a greedy young lawyer ammunition to have him declared insane; the only way possible to get his hands on part of his fortune.
If recent studies have shown that rich people are no more intelligent (at least in terms of IQ) than poor people, this is something that Vonnegut clearly knew decades ago. It's clear from this novel that he believed that the "haves" and "have-nots" were usually separated by little more than luck; usually involving being born into the right circumstances. Eliot's father subscribes to the conventional American wisdom that hard work is all it takes to succeed. Eliot's idol, Science Fiction writer Kilgore Trout, has a more ambivalent point of view. The reader is left to make their own conclusion.
If recent studies have shown that rich people are no more intelligent (at least in terms of IQ) than poor people, this is something that Vonnegut clearly knew decades ago. It's clear from this novel that he believed that the "haves" and "have-nots" were usually separated by little more than luck; usually involving being born into the right circumstances. Eliot's father subscribes to the conventional American wisdom that hard work is all it takes to succeed. Eliot's idol, Science Fiction writer Kilgore Trout, has a more ambivalent point of view. The reader is left to make their own conclusion.
Another masterpiece from Vonnegut
In "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" Kurt Vonnegut (one of my favorite authors) takes on the class system, capitalism, and philanthropy to splendid, wickedly funny -- and hopelessly accurate -- effect. It is the tale of the Rosewater family, which has amassed a fortune totalling $87,472,033.61 and devised an elaborate foundation to protect their money from the American government that would try to tax it away from them. Through meaningless acts of "charity" (such as loaning expensive art to a museum for an exhibition, and then taking it back) the foundation ensures that the Rosewater fortune will always be firmly controlled by the Rosewater family. Trouble brews when an ambitious young lawyer decides to prove that the current foundation head, Eliot Rosewater, is crazy so that an estranged cousin can take over -- getting the lawyer a nice chunk of the family fortune in the process. This will not be so difficult to do because Eliot has been doing the unthinkable since taking over the foundation from his Senator father: he has been using it to do actual charitable work. You see, Eliot suffered a breakdown after accidentally killing three innocent firefighters (one a mere fourteen years old) in Europe during WWII. Desperate to atone for his mistake, Eliot has returned to his hometown of Rosewater, Indiana to make a difference in the world. Within a year he has spurned the wealthy families in town who aspire to his company and come to be revered by the impoverished townsfolk as a saint. He helps anyone who needs it -- in one instance he has an abusive husband arrested, then turns around and hires him a lawyer when he can't afford one on his own. To the world at large these are the actions of a man who has totally lost his mind. But has he?
Vonnegut masterfully navigates the reader through the saga of the Rosewater clan and the novel's themes with only one stumble to be found in the all-too quick ending. The rest of the book forgives this mistake. You can't go wrong with Vonnegut, and in "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" the remarkable author is at his satiric best.
Vonnegut masterfully navigates the reader through the saga of the Rosewater clan and the novel's themes with only one stumble to be found in the all-too quick ending. The rest of the book forgives this mistake. You can't go wrong with Vonnegut, and in "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" the remarkable author is at his satiric best.
Eliot Rosewater is giving away his money (and love and attention) to deserving people... and some maybe not so deserving. This proves he is crazy. Hence the subtitle "Pearls Before Swine."
That's the setup in this minor Vonnegut novel. Eliot has no illusions about the quality of the people he sometimes helps or how far his help will go. But he insists that the world would be a better place if everyone gave a little something to each other. This in turn sets Eliot up for a confrontation with a lawyer and his Senator father as the family fortune is threatened because Eliot can be proven insane. After all, he's giving it away. He must be crazy. Kilgore Trout comes to the rescue with his usual comically inverted (and yet somehow truer) morals.
This isn't Vonnegut's best but it is a pleasant and gentle novel with a bit of a moral and some good comic moments. A nice read.
Amazing story - more appropriate today than ever before (Can anyone say Wisconsin in 2011?)
Now that I have been writing book reviews on almost everything I read, I feel compelled to write at least a few words on this incredible novel of Kurt Vonnegut's - of which thousands of reviews have been written already.
I kept having to check the publishing information to make sure that it was written 46 years ago and not 46 minutes ago. Some of the concepts are so prescient as to seem almost spooky. (Or perhaps that means they are timeless...but caught up in today's crazy political spectrum, I am going with the prophetic angle.)
"Thus did a handful of rapacious citizens come to control all that was worth controlling in America. Thus was the savage and stupid and entirely inappropriate and unnecessary and humorless American class system created. Honest, industrious, peaceful citizens were classed as bloodsuckers, if they asked to be paid a living wage. And they saw that praise was reserved henceforth for those who devised means of getting paid enormously for committing crimes against which no laws had been passed. Thus the American dream turned belly up..." Can anyone say Wisconsin in 2011?
And, "An even more instructive motto, in the light of history made by the Noah Rosewaters, might be: Grab much too much, or you'll get nothing at all."
I tore through this book, amazed not only by Vonnegut's amazing social commentary, but also by the small pauses of quiet beauty he describes, scenes of a country that was and might not be much longer. "That's such an American sound, you know? School out and the flag down? Such a sad American sound. You should hear it sometime when the sun's gone down, and a light evening wind comes up, and it's suppertime all over the world." So descriptive...I can see and feel the scene exactly.
I must thank my aunt again for what turned out to be one of my best birthday presents...a book that seems one written in the past but most applicable for our tenuous present. If only we had an Eliot Rosewater to save us, to realize the unjust reality he describes that so many Americans now live in.
"...fright about not getting enough to eat, about not being able to pay the doctor, about not being able to give your family nice clothes, a safe, cheerful, comfortable place to live, a decent education, and a few good times? You mean shame about not knowing where the Money River is?"
"The what?"
"The Money River, where the wealth of the nation flows. We were born on the banks of it - and so were most of the mediocre people we grew up with, went to private schools with, sailed and played tennis with. We can slurp from that mighty river to our hearts' content."
Because even in a land where there is the theoretical chance that a person can become "self made", what matters now more than ever, is how close one was born to that magical Money River.
I kept having to check the publishing information to make sure that it was written 46 years ago and not 46 minutes ago. Some of the concepts are so prescient as to seem almost spooky. (Or perhaps that means they are timeless...but caught up in today's crazy political spectrum, I am going with the prophetic angle.)
"Thus did a handful of rapacious citizens come to control all that was worth controlling in America. Thus was the savage and stupid and entirely inappropriate and unnecessary and humorless American class system created. Honest, industrious, peaceful citizens were classed as bloodsuckers, if they asked to be paid a living wage. And they saw that praise was reserved henceforth for those who devised means of getting paid enormously for committing crimes against which no laws had been passed. Thus the American dream turned belly up..." Can anyone say Wisconsin in 2011?
And, "An even more instructive motto, in the light of history made by the Noah Rosewaters, might be: Grab much too much, or you'll get nothing at all."
I tore through this book, amazed not only by Vonnegut's amazing social commentary, but also by the small pauses of quiet beauty he describes, scenes of a country that was and might not be much longer. "That's such an American sound, you know? School out and the flag down? Such a sad American sound. You should hear it sometime when the sun's gone down, and a light evening wind comes up, and it's suppertime all over the world." So descriptive...I can see and feel the scene exactly.
I must thank my aunt again for what turned out to be one of my best birthday presents...a book that seems one written in the past but most applicable for our tenuous present. If only we had an Eliot Rosewater to save us, to realize the unjust reality he describes that so many Americans now live in.
"...fright about not getting enough to eat, about not being able to pay the doctor, about not being able to give your family nice clothes, a safe, cheerful, comfortable place to live, a decent education, and a few good times? You mean shame about not knowing where the Money River is?"
"The what?"
"The Money River, where the wealth of the nation flows. We were born on the banks of it - and so were most of the mediocre people we grew up with, went to private schools with, sailed and played tennis with. We can slurp from that mighty river to our hearts' content."
Because even in a land where there is the theoretical chance that a person can become "self made", what matters now more than ever, is how close one was born to that magical Money River.
"God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater", is one of Kurt Vonnegut's greatest books. It is based around Eliot Rosewater, a warm hearted, eccentric millionare, and presendent of the Rosewater Corporation, a incredibly rich foundation that is passed along from father to son. He abandons the high life in NYC, and moves to Rosewater County in Indiana, his family's home. Eliot begins to help the poor people (which is all of Rosewater County) with their personal problems, and soon becomes the "father" of them all. A lawyer, seeking the Rosewater fortune for himself, sets out prove that Eliot is insane. I won't tell you the ending, but suffice to say that it is excellent. Vonnegut shows us thatmoney isn't everything, and a poor person from Indiana is just as important as a Senator from New York. A matchless book.
For me this wasn't on the level of Breakfast of Champions, Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, etc but it was still very enjoyable and thoroughly Vonnegut.
It's a quick read, and worthy of an afternoon or two beneath a tree.
It's a quick read, and worthy of an afternoon or two beneath a tree.
"Money is a dehydrated Utopia"
God Bless you Mr. Rosewater is a challenge to fight for social justice and to support the humanist motto if "God da-n it, you've got to be kind." In his classic opening sentence, Vonnegut says "A sum of money is a leading character in this tale about people, just as a sum of honey might properly be a leading character in a story about bees." Vonnegut uses skittish plots and a variety of curious characters to lay out a picture of America that is becoming more stratified by money and access to power. As the main character, the ill-begotten fortune is given a birth (original accumulation by Noah Rosewater who sent a substitute to the civil war, allowing him to stay home and make millions in the war effort) and a death (Eliot's surprise decision at the end).
Pisquontuit, Rhode Island and Rosewater County, Indiana are the principle settings for the book and both are everyday small towns comprised of wealth and poverty. Vonnegut describes the inhabitants of each as "The lives led there were nearly all paltry, lacking in subtlety, wisdom, wit or convention - were precisely as pointless and unhappy as lives led in Rosewater, Indiana." The stratification of wealth is most poignantly illustrated in his depiction of Pisquontuit, where Fred Rosewater intermittently enters the drugstore that has the coffee shop for the rich, then the news store that has the coffee shop for the poor.
Although America's rich have devised laws to propagate their wealth untouched through the generations, you can still gain access to the "money river" by becoming a "slurper." Norman Mushari, young lawyer, learned in law school that, "just like a good airline pilot should always be looking for places to land, so should a lawyer always be looking for situations were large amounts of money were about to change hands." Hence comes the plot line. Eliot Rosewater is the heir to the $87,472,033.61 Rosewater fortune. To make sure he gets his dibs, Mushari wants to prove that Eliot is insane thereby redirecting the money river to a distant cousin, Fred Rosewater, in Pisquontuit.
Besides Elliot Rosewater and Fred Rosewater, the third important Rosewater is Senator Lister Ames Rosewater. Clearly, he personifies the idea proposed by the subtitle "pearls before swine." Similar to Ebenezer Scrooge prior to his visits from Christmas ghosts, Senator Rosewater represents the attitude of the aristocratic rich that social programs and wealth reallocation initiatives are frivolous because we should not waste good things on people who will not appreciate them.
In usual Vonnegut style, the reader is clearly and repeatedly presented the theme of the book in no uncertain terms. Early in the book, he writes "When the United States of America, which was meant to be a Utopia for all, was less than a century old, Noah Rosewater and a few men like him demonstrated a folly of the founding fathers in one respect: those sadly recent ancestors hadn't made it a law in the utopia that wealth of each citizen should be limited. This oversight was engendered by a weak-kneed sympathy for those who love expensive things, and by the feeling that the continent was so vast and valuable, and the population so thin and enterprising, that no thief, no matter how fast he stole, could more than mildly inconvenience anyone."
Again, later in the book, Kilgore Trout has this to say in reference to Eliot's apparent capricious financial support of his neighbors' needs: "Well... what you did in Rosewater County was far from insane. It was quite easily the most important social experiment of our time, for it dealt on a very small scale with the problem whose queasy horrors will eventually be made world-wide by the sophistication of machines. The problem is this: how to love people who have no use?"
Pisquontuit, Rhode Island and Rosewater County, Indiana are the principle settings for the book and both are everyday small towns comprised of wealth and poverty. Vonnegut describes the inhabitants of each as "The lives led there were nearly all paltry, lacking in subtlety, wisdom, wit or convention - were precisely as pointless and unhappy as lives led in Rosewater, Indiana." The stratification of wealth is most poignantly illustrated in his depiction of Pisquontuit, where Fred Rosewater intermittently enters the drugstore that has the coffee shop for the rich, then the news store that has the coffee shop for the poor.
Although America's rich have devised laws to propagate their wealth untouched through the generations, you can still gain access to the "money river" by becoming a "slurper." Norman Mushari, young lawyer, learned in law school that, "just like a good airline pilot should always be looking for places to land, so should a lawyer always be looking for situations were large amounts of money were about to change hands." Hence comes the plot line. Eliot Rosewater is the heir to the $87,472,033.61 Rosewater fortune. To make sure he gets his dibs, Mushari wants to prove that Eliot is insane thereby redirecting the money river to a distant cousin, Fred Rosewater, in Pisquontuit.
Besides Elliot Rosewater and Fred Rosewater, the third important Rosewater is Senator Lister Ames Rosewater. Clearly, he personifies the idea proposed by the subtitle "pearls before swine." Similar to Ebenezer Scrooge prior to his visits from Christmas ghosts, Senator Rosewater represents the attitude of the aristocratic rich that social programs and wealth reallocation initiatives are frivolous because we should not waste good things on people who will not appreciate them.
In usual Vonnegut style, the reader is clearly and repeatedly presented the theme of the book in no uncertain terms. Early in the book, he writes "When the United States of America, which was meant to be a Utopia for all, was less than a century old, Noah Rosewater and a few men like him demonstrated a folly of the founding fathers in one respect: those sadly recent ancestors hadn't made it a law in the utopia that wealth of each citizen should be limited. This oversight was engendered by a weak-kneed sympathy for those who love expensive things, and by the feeling that the continent was so vast and valuable, and the population so thin and enterprising, that no thief, no matter how fast he stole, could more than mildly inconvenience anyone."
Again, later in the book, Kilgore Trout has this to say in reference to Eliot's apparent capricious financial support of his neighbors' needs: "Well... what you did in Rosewater County was far from insane. It was quite easily the most important social experiment of our time, for it dealt on a very small scale with the problem whose queasy horrors will eventually be made world-wide by the sophistication of machines. The problem is this: how to love people who have no use?"
Eliot Rosewater is a fat and mediocre minded do-gooder. What makes him extraordinary is that he has the means, through the Rosewater foundation, to dole out money to anyone who requests a bit. In his home town of Rosewater, Indiana, where he has returned like the prodigal mad citizen, he ignores society, purchases an enormous fire alarm, bankrolls the fire company and personally answers 24 hour calls over two telephones- one for assistance and the other for fire emergencies. He has different composures, voices and rules for each. The cranks who phone him for money are old drunken, ugly spinsters, none too clean or honorable town 'handymen,' and his father, the famous Senator Rosewater; whom seeing his son, shrieks at God, for having handed him this vale of tears. Elliott drinks too much, cannot father an heir and has driven his otherwise loving wife to a arsonist's breakdown. She torched the Fire Company.
Eliott has no grand plan of philanthropy, not even a cause, unless the volunteer firemen and their work count. He has a quasi Buddhist detachment from hatred as well as wealth and status. Plenty of people, especially the evil Norman Mushari, are out to filch his millions and crucify his reputation in the meantime.
The book examines the Rosewater mutation whereby every couple of generations, a male is born with no aspiration. No desire to scratch and claw or otherwise greedily grasp power from others.
Vonnegut's thematic puncturing of capitalism, European fatuousness and the nature of success and failure is showcased with the also unseemly nature of the non-wealthy and unsuccessful. Mushari goes face to face with the God of most of Vonnegut's cosmology- Kilgore Trout, science fiction writer. The book is part of the canon of this icon of an author and as such, I recommend it highly to one and all. The time when I first read it, was a time when I still found drunks a riot and even the smallest attack upon the status quo enormously satisfying. We are no longer that naive and yet the lessons and the funniness of just about everything can never be dated.
What a fantastic book! It is one of the only books that I"ve read were I really wished it would not end. The content came across as light but imbued with deep thought. The writing was weird and fun--it made for an enjoyable read. I can't remember a character study that I've liked more.
Kilgore Trout's novel -- 2br02b -- boldly ask the question "What the hell are people for?" Vonnegut offers an answer in this book. His protaganist Eliot Rosewater, struggles for meaning in a world obsessed by money, greed and prestige. (Sound familiar?) Yet Eliot is able to hold his course. I strongly recommend this book to reluctant cynics and others looking for a witty, well written novel about the nature of human beings.
I can understand why a lot of people might not like this book. It is a complete thrashing of the American system of Free Enterprise, so if you buy into social Darwinism (Republican?), you may find this book offensive. I am reading this book for the fifth time and I can tell you that it is the best book I've ever read. Rosewater is my favorite character Vonnegut has created. If you are open minded enough, this book could have quite an impact on the way you want to live your life. Due to our current political situation here in the US, there has never been a better time to read this book. Buy it and read it immediately. You won't be sorry.
"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion"-Kurt Vonnegut
"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward." Kurt Vonnegut
On a mission to prove that Eliot Rosewater is legally insane, an attorney named Mushari is investigating Eliot's life, relationships, and actions. Between Eliot's strange relationship with his French wife, his drunkenness, and his overwhelming generosity, one can't tell if Eliot is insane or the world around him is insane.
Vonnegut captures with great skill Eliot's sarcastic ideas and extremely dark, but funny jokes. At one point Eliot reads about the bombing of Dresden and his reaction is an expected outcome to the story and representative of Vonnegut's personal confrontation with one of the most important incidents of his own life.
As Vonnegut writes in: "A Man without a Country": "Humor is an almost physiological response to fear.", the scattered stories of Eliot's interactions with the world describe the world's craziness with a loud laughing fear. "God bless you Mr. Rosewater" is another fabulous book by a gifted writer.
On a mission to prove that Eliot Rosewater is legally insane, an attorney named Mushari is investigating Eliot's life, relationships, and actions. Between Eliot's strange relationship with his French wife, his drunkenness, and his overwhelming generosity, one can't tell if Eliot is insane or the world around him is insane.
Vonnegut captures with great skill Eliot's sarcastic ideas and extremely dark, but funny jokes. At one point Eliot reads about the bombing of Dresden and his reaction is an expected outcome to the story and representative of Vonnegut's personal confrontation with one of the most important incidents of his own life.
As Vonnegut writes in: "A Man without a Country": "Humor is an almost physiological response to fear.", the scattered stories of Eliot's interactions with the world describe the world's craziness with a loud laughing fear. "God bless you Mr. Rosewater" is another fabulous book by a gifted writer.
God Bless you Mr. Vonnegut because only you could still be this good in what remains one of your lessor books.
Ostensibly the story of 87 million dollar plus inheritance, this book tells the tale of a man and a family beset by the duties of wealth.
On the one side we have Elliot Rosewater, the young heir who disdains personal use of the money to devote in service of others. Instead of a hair shirt, Elliot drinks constantly, wears dirty clothes and sleeps in the makeshift office of his own Rosewater foundation from which he disperses periodic grants of money to the needy.
On the other side, we have Senator Rosewater, Elliot's father, who's fosuced more about on what the money can do for him. Senate, a place in society, a concern for producing priviledged and dominant decendents so he can better the value of the Rosewater name.
We feely oddly uncomfortable to the extent we empathize with the Senator and chagrin at the son.
And in the end we wonder at Elliot's actions. How do or don't they ultimately service his father's ends?
Regardless of these issues, Vonnegut is always good reading but for first time Vonnegut readers I would probably suggest Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle in that order. Read him when he was being really really deep instead of just deep.
Ostensibly the story of 87 million dollar plus inheritance, this book tells the tale of a man and a family beset by the duties of wealth.
On the one side we have Elliot Rosewater, the young heir who disdains personal use of the money to devote in service of others. Instead of a hair shirt, Elliot drinks constantly, wears dirty clothes and sleeps in the makeshift office of his own Rosewater foundation from which he disperses periodic grants of money to the needy.
On the other side, we have Senator Rosewater, Elliot's father, who's fosuced more about on what the money can do for him. Senate, a place in society, a concern for producing priviledged and dominant decendents so he can better the value of the Rosewater name.
We feely oddly uncomfortable to the extent we empathize with the Senator and chagrin at the son.
And in the end we wonder at Elliot's actions. How do or don't they ultimately service his father's ends?
Regardless of these issues, Vonnegut is always good reading but for first time Vonnegut readers I would probably suggest Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle in that order. Read him when he was being really really deep instead of just deep.
Next to Breakfast of Champions, this is my favorite Vonnegut book. I found myself laughing, shaking my head at the absurdity of the book and how it correlates to the ideals we live with. It makes a bold statement, but does so in a subtle way. It lets the reader make connections and Vonnegut steers the reader with skill and precision.
To call this a DEEP read is an understatement.
Mr. Vonnegut has put forth a great piece of literature that binds together the worlds of poverty and gross wealth in a study on what makes human beings worthwhile or worthless and the make up of the architect of man.
This novel is a collage of introspection and lessons. Using religious allegory, Vonnegut shows that human beings are only human-- whether poor or rich. His god figurine, when all sculpted by the end of the book, shows the reader a view on the creator of man: entropic on the surface, yet acutely set in his ways of good, even after the denouncment of him by his people. Take this view however you wish.
Vonnegut's god is all of us: rich, poor, filthy, crazy... the list goes on. And Vonnegut raises the strange question: Was God crazy for producing mankind?
This novel is thought provoking, entertaining, and enlightening. Take my view however you wish.
Eliot Rosewater, a millionaire-become-champion-of-the-little-people is accused of being insane and floats through his attempt at a good benevolent existence in an absurd world where insanity is shunned, but simple existence is automatic insanity.
Eliot Rosewater shows us all a little something
Slaughterhouse Five often gets the credit, but this is the best Vonnegut book out there. There is a lot we can all learn from Kilgore Trout, and if a drunken Eliot Rosewater can figure it out - its sad that others out in this world can't.
Surprisingly Uplifting and Consistantly Great!
With "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" (heretofore known as GBYMR), Vonnegut breaks the traditionally gloomy 20th century mold by presenting a hero who truly is good, and truly is altruistic. Eliot Rosewater has no ulterior motives; he just wants to make people happy. GBYMR proves Vonnegut has range, as he can swing from the gloom of "Slaughterhouse V" to the bright outlook presented by GBYMR: That people really do have the capacity for good.
One of Vonnegut's most endearing characters comes to life
Eliot Rosewater could be someone you know. Though caught up in a family struggle of money and power, Rosewater himself wants nothing more than to read the science fiction novels of Kilgore Trout and be a volunteer fireman. Here, Vonnegut uses his great skill of detailing characters to bring this tremendous, lovable character to life. In the background, of course, are the usual life-problems which bring a tinge of dark humor and a sometimes muddling subplot about Rosewater's money which surround him in his life. A gratifying, and greatly humorous experience
In one of his last books, Vonnegut imagines a meeting with Eugence Debs, American socialist.
"As long as there is a lower class, I am it it," Debs once said, "As long as there is a criminal element, I am of it. As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free."
Vonnegut had to report to Debs that people "snicker and snort" at that quote today. But they reacted the same way, Vonnegut implied to Debs, to the Sermon on the Mount.
And so, Mr. Rosewater, leading messiah of "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," was snickered and snorted at. Of course, Vonnegut made this snickering and snorting funny. He also made it touching.
Read "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" to see Christ's message clarified by Vonnegut; to see him sadly observe how this message in received in today's America--land of the ridiculous and home of the insincere.
"As long as there is a lower class, I am it it," Debs once said, "As long as there is a criminal element, I am of it. As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free."
Vonnegut had to report to Debs that people "snicker and snort" at that quote today. But they reacted the same way, Vonnegut implied to Debs, to the Sermon on the Mount.
And so, Mr. Rosewater, leading messiah of "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," was snickered and snorted at. Of course, Vonnegut made this snickering and snorting funny. He also made it touching.
Read "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" to see Christ's message clarified by Vonnegut; to see him sadly observe how this message in received in today's America--land of the ridiculous and home of the insincere.
This book, which has been touted as a "brilliant satire on almost everything", is, in fact, one of Vonnegut's second-rate novels. It is perhaps his most pessimistic, cynical, darkest book of them all. It's also different from the majority of his work in that it is fairly straight-forwardly written; it doesn't jump around on narrative detours like most of his books do. The story is told in fairly linear fashion. It is certainly a good book, and a nice, quick read (like all Vonnegut, it has that indescrible weird factor - not suspense, in the typical fashion - that keeps you reading it); it's just that it doesn't have that Great Underlying Moral like his best books do. The book's main character is Eliot Rosewater (undoubtedly a familar persona to Vonnegut fans), and he gives in this book - to everybody - what seemingly no one is willing to give these days: unconditional love. In turn for this, he is spit on by the world. This book says, in typical Vonnegut candor, Help people; you won't be appreciated for it, and you will probably even be ridiclued, but do it, anyway. It also says, Most people don't deserve help - they are worthless, useless, and stupid - but do it, anyway. Also, this book is a sharp-toothed satire of the American welfare system. Vonnegut's view of welfare echoes mine: it was a good idea to start out with, but its usefulness has passed. People who don't need it are milking it shamelessly, and the time has come to drastically re-organize it, or dispense with it alltogether. Vonnegut also tackles the issue of inherited wealth, and all forms of riches you earn by birthright, or other similar cirumstances, without actually earning yourself. Of course, this inevitably raises the subject of Communism. This book has a lot of interesting ideas, and points, but they are never brought together into that single, incredible cohesive whole, like they are in his best books. Certainly, it is a worthy read for fans; others, however, would be wise to start elsewhere.
Vonnegut's Best Shot at The Great American Novel
Out of all Vonnegut's novels, this is by far the best. One reason is that there are no sci-fi trappings, no silliness about time travel or aliens, nothing but a real study of American history and the impact of wealth and greed on the ideal of democracy. While short and exceedingly easy to read, the book feels like an epic narrative, since it sweeps from the very rich to the very poor, from the battlefields of the Civil War to the modern sailing playgrounds of the very rich. It feels much longer and richer than it is in terms of page count alone.
For the first and last time, Vonnegut takes the time to outline a realistic setting,Rosewater County Indiana, and observes the effects of poverty there with all the power (but none of the sentimentality) of John Steinbeck at his best. At the same time he cuts back to New York, writing about the rich Rosewater clan and the wealthy families of Pisquontuit with all the power (but none of the sentimentality) of Edith Wharton. Last of all, he uses a brilliant series of flashbacks to describe America's tragic fall from the courage and carnage of the Civil War to the squalor and self-indulgence of America today. The Civil War sections alone are unique in Vonnegut's work; he captures the horror of the casualty rates without in any way denying or shying away from the ideals of the Union Army. He writes about the civil war with all of the power (but none of the sentimentality) of Southern apologists like Charles Frazier.
Eliot Rosewater is an ideal American hero,and a fascinating foil to Billy Pilgrim in SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. Both are All-American guys. But where Billy is an average Joe, Eliot is a scion of wealth and privilege. Where Billy is a ninety eight pound weakling, Eliot is a sailing and tennis champ. Billy is a one-dimensional anti-war propaganda device, (too "pure" to acquire even the most basic military discipline) while Eliot is a much-decorated officer who fights well and suffers as only a brave man can.
The greater power of Eliot Rosewater means that the stakes are much higher. Unlike Billy Pilgrim, Eliot is not a passive weakling but a crusader who sacrifices wealth and privilege to help the poor. His warmth, gentleness and paternal concern for the less fortunate are rendered with tenderness and humor. Vonnegut creates a convincing modern day saint and gives him a real experience among fully realized victims of modern America.
As always in Vonnegut, the few flaws in the book all involve women. Eliot's wife Sylvia is flayed raw again and again as a spoiled socialite who simply can't muster up the gumption to stand by Eliot's side. Vonnegut apologizes for her -- but with a sneer. He never seems to have realized that not all women are as fragile and treacherous as his own mother, who, as he never gets tired of telling us, abandoned him by committing suicide at an early age. By the same token, Fred Rosewater of Rhode Island, Eliot's distant cousin, is rendered as gentle and long-suffering, while his wife Caroline is a one-dimensional shrew. Vonnegut can't get away from an instinctive hostility to women as women, as if the mere biological condition of womanhood were some sort of moral weakness.
His social criticism, as bracing as it is, often suffers as a result. For example, in the Rhode Island section, he feels like lashing out at the rich, so he writes (quite memorably) "four fat, stupid, silly widows in furs were laughing over a bathroom joke printed on a cocktail napkin." Hell of a sentence! Sounds like Joseph Cotten in SHADOW OF A DOUBT. But what does it really mean?
What's odd here is that Vonnegut is attacking the rich, only it seems he only means women. And what he hates about women is that they know about sex? That they enjoy sex? That sex exists? That somehow wanting sex killed off the men folk? As Thackeray's Becky Sharp puts it, he leaves women under the weight of an accusation that is, after all, unspoken.
Still, this is the one Vonnegut book that really has the feel of a fully accomplished novel, a genuine American classic. It has moral depth and epic scope that he never achieved again.
For the first and last time, Vonnegut takes the time to outline a realistic setting,Rosewater County Indiana, and observes the effects of poverty there with all the power (but none of the sentimentality) of John Steinbeck at his best. At the same time he cuts back to New York, writing about the rich Rosewater clan and the wealthy families of Pisquontuit with all the power (but none of the sentimentality) of Edith Wharton. Last of all, he uses a brilliant series of flashbacks to describe America's tragic fall from the courage and carnage of the Civil War to the squalor and self-indulgence of America today. The Civil War sections alone are unique in Vonnegut's work; he captures the horror of the casualty rates without in any way denying or shying away from the ideals of the Union Army. He writes about the civil war with all of the power (but none of the sentimentality) of Southern apologists like Charles Frazier.
Eliot Rosewater is an ideal American hero,and a fascinating foil to Billy Pilgrim in SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. Both are All-American guys. But where Billy is an average Joe, Eliot is a scion of wealth and privilege. Where Billy is a ninety eight pound weakling, Eliot is a sailing and tennis champ. Billy is a one-dimensional anti-war propaganda device, (too "pure" to acquire even the most basic military discipline) while Eliot is a much-decorated officer who fights well and suffers as only a brave man can.
The greater power of Eliot Rosewater means that the stakes are much higher. Unlike Billy Pilgrim, Eliot is not a passive weakling but a crusader who sacrifices wealth and privilege to help the poor. His warmth, gentleness and paternal concern for the less fortunate are rendered with tenderness and humor. Vonnegut creates a convincing modern day saint and gives him a real experience among fully realized victims of modern America.
As always in Vonnegut, the few flaws in the book all involve women. Eliot's wife Sylvia is flayed raw again and again as a spoiled socialite who simply can't muster up the gumption to stand by Eliot's side. Vonnegut apologizes for her -- but with a sneer. He never seems to have realized that not all women are as fragile and treacherous as his own mother, who, as he never gets tired of telling us, abandoned him by committing suicide at an early age. By the same token, Fred Rosewater of Rhode Island, Eliot's distant cousin, is rendered as gentle and long-suffering, while his wife Caroline is a one-dimensional shrew. Vonnegut can't get away from an instinctive hostility to women as women, as if the mere biological condition of womanhood were some sort of moral weakness.
His social criticism, as bracing as it is, often suffers as a result. For example, in the Rhode Island section, he feels like lashing out at the rich, so he writes (quite memorably) "four fat, stupid, silly widows in furs were laughing over a bathroom joke printed on a cocktail napkin." Hell of a sentence! Sounds like Joseph Cotten in SHADOW OF A DOUBT. But what does it really mean?
What's odd here is that Vonnegut is attacking the rich, only it seems he only means women. And what he hates about women is that they know about sex? That they enjoy sex? That sex exists? That somehow wanting sex killed off the men folk? As Thackeray's Becky Sharp puts it, he leaves women under the weight of an accusation that is, after all, unspoken.
Still, this is the one Vonnegut book that really has the feel of a fully accomplished novel, a genuine American classic. It has moral depth and epic scope that he never achieved again.
"God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater", is one of Kurt Vonnegut's greatest books. It is based around Eliot Rosewater, a warm hearted, eccentric millionare, and presendent of the Rosewater Corporation, a incredibly rich foundation that is passed along from father to son. He abandons the high life in NYC, and moves to Rosewater County in Indiana, his family's home. Eliot begins to help the poor people (which is all of Rosewater County) with their personal problems, and soon becomes the "father" of them all. A lawyer, seeking the Rosewater fortune for himself, sets out prove that Eliot is insane. I won't tell you the ending, but suffice to say that it is excellent. Vonnegut shows us thatmoney isn't everything, and a poor person from Indiana is just as important as a Senator from New York. A matchless book.
God bless you, Eliot Rosewater.
I almost never read books anymore, but today I started this novel on the bus when I was going to my family's house for Thanksgiving and I surprised myself and read the whole thing. I've been a fan of Kurt Vonnegut for a while and I've read a lot of his books and this is definitely one of his best works. It might not be as good as his three best-known works but it is still a 5 star book. It was never boring, I loved each of the characters, especially Eliot, and while it wasn't as funny as some of his others I still laughed a great deal. This is going down as one of my favorite Vonnegut books.
The plot of this book, such as it is, consists of the attempt of a young, unscrupulous attorney to wrest control of a large trust fund from a scrupled, but unconventional scion of a habitually unscrupulous family. Meanwhile, the scion attempts to live as authentically charitably as he can. As one might expect, the issue is the scion's sanity.
Mr. Vonnegut's writing here is typically quick and darkly humorous. Untypically, though, the target of his disdain doesn't appear worthy of the attention. Vonnegut takes on the industry/universe surrounding old unearned money/power and more-or-less effectively savages every component - including the recipients of the charity. Few sacred cows, however, are slain in the attack. Indeed, the book strikes me as almost rote - delivering exactly the characters and interactions one would expect from a satire of the old-monied. As my "star rating" shows, I don't find this to be a bad book or uninteresting, but it's not the quality of most of Vonnegut's other work. If you're starting on your Vonnegut, save this one for later.
Mr. Vonnegut's writing here is typically quick and darkly humorous. Untypically, though, the target of his disdain doesn't appear worthy of the attention. Vonnegut takes on the industry/universe surrounding old unearned money/power and more-or-less effectively savages every component - including the recipients of the charity. Few sacred cows, however, are slain in the attack. Indeed, the book strikes me as almost rote - delivering exactly the characters and interactions one would expect from a satire of the old-monied. As my "star rating" shows, I don't find this to be a bad book or uninteresting, but it's not the quality of most of Vonnegut's other work. If you're starting on your Vonnegut, save this one for later.
Vonnegut's humanism and compassion for our frailties is as fresh and relevant now as it was decades ago when this sensitive, funny, and insightful book was written.
Like all Vonneguts, this is a pretty great book. It was not as good as "Cat's Cradle", but it was pretty close. If you finally want to know about the mysterious life of Eliot Rosewater who is one of the two people in the world to ever read Kilgor Trout, you have to read it.
Although not quite up to the level of Breakfast of Champions, which is among my favorite books of all time, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is still a breathtaking, amazing, humorous read. In fact, after I finished it I was inspired to grab another of Vonnegut's works, Welcome to the Monkey House.
Kurt Vonnegut's unique ability is to look at different aspects of the world around us that we take for granted as being "normal," & then point out the absurdity of it all. In this book, one among several ideas that he takes aim at which many take for granted in everyday life is class distinction, and the huge effect it can have upon one's life: to have won the genetic lottery of being born rich. But what makes the main character, Eliot Rosewater, really strange is that he chooses to personally use his vast, family fortune to help people from his small, hometown of Rosewater, Indiana that the modern world has largely rendered without hope, use, or purpose. He does not just throw money at these people's problems, although he is not above doing just that. Humorously, he runs a dingy foundation located above the town liquor store all by himself, with a hotline written by hand in every phone booth throughout the city. That way, in between drinking himself into oblivion, he personally deals with all of the rundown inhabitants' problems, big & small. He is essentially an eccentric saint: a fat, disheveled, drunk, Harvard graduate with all the money in the world, who just wants to help people.
Thus, an ambitious lawyer sets out to steal the family wealth by proving Eliot's selfless actions to be insane. Vonnegut once again pokes fun at what society deems "normal" behavior and how many regard being motivated purely by self interest as being the only rational course of action. As usual, Vonnegut introduces a number of strange & memorable characters, while keeping the reader laughing throughout. Kurt Vonnegut's unique take on the world is truly timeless & never seems to grow out of date, despite the fact that the book was written in 1965. Take a peek into the world of Vonnegut and come away knowing a little more about reality.
Kurt Vonnegut's unique ability is to look at different aspects of the world around us that we take for granted as being "normal," & then point out the absurdity of it all. In this book, one among several ideas that he takes aim at which many take for granted in everyday life is class distinction, and the huge effect it can have upon one's life: to have won the genetic lottery of being born rich. But what makes the main character, Eliot Rosewater, really strange is that he chooses to personally use his vast, family fortune to help people from his small, hometown of Rosewater, Indiana that the modern world has largely rendered without hope, use, or purpose. He does not just throw money at these people's problems, although he is not above doing just that. Humorously, he runs a dingy foundation located above the town liquor store all by himself, with a hotline written by hand in every phone booth throughout the city. That way, in between drinking himself into oblivion, he personally deals with all of the rundown inhabitants' problems, big & small. He is essentially an eccentric saint: a fat, disheveled, drunk, Harvard graduate with all the money in the world, who just wants to help people.
Thus, an ambitious lawyer sets out to steal the family wealth by proving Eliot's selfless actions to be insane. Vonnegut once again pokes fun at what society deems "normal" behavior and how many regard being motivated purely by self interest as being the only rational course of action. As usual, Vonnegut introduces a number of strange & memorable characters, while keeping the reader laughing throughout. Kurt Vonnegut's unique take on the world is truly timeless & never seems to grow out of date, despite the fact that the book was written in 1965. Take a peek into the world of Vonnegut and come away knowing a little more about reality.
Average Vonnegut, still quite good.
I couldn't help being slightly disappointed with this one. I suppose one of your favorite authors will sometime let you down a little. It's still a good read, but considering he has so many other better books, this isn't essential Vonnegut, unless you are a big fan and want to read all his novels. It's true what everyone says about Vonnegut though, he is very addictive. Once you get into him you will want to read all of his work.
That said, the book goes everywhere in all directions, one minute you are interested in what happens next, and then the book just goes off on something else and for a little too long. I enjoyed reading about Elliot's encounters and conversations with the people of Rosewater, but I wanted more. I enjoyed reading about Fred Rosewater, but it was almost too little, too late. And another big problem was that Vonnegut brings in a couple useless characters and talks about them and a past situation when we could be reading more Eliot or Fred. I know it's very Vonnegut and I understand the connections with the message, but it wasn't all a good thing with this one.
I suppose Vonnegut said all that he wanted to say in this book, but I would have read more if it was there. It's a short, light read, and although it is preachy, it's still an honest and moral take on society and life, just don't expect it to be as good as, "Breakfast of Champions" or "Mother Night."
That said, the book goes everywhere in all directions, one minute you are interested in what happens next, and then the book just goes off on something else and for a little too long. I enjoyed reading about Elliot's encounters and conversations with the people of Rosewater, but I wanted more. I enjoyed reading about Fred Rosewater, but it was almost too little, too late. And another big problem was that Vonnegut brings in a couple useless characters and talks about them and a past situation when we could be reading more Eliot or Fred. I know it's very Vonnegut and I understand the connections with the message, but it wasn't all a good thing with this one.
I suppose Vonnegut said all that he wanted to say in this book, but I would have read more if it was there. It's a short, light read, and although it is preachy, it's still an honest and moral take on society and life, just don't expect it to be as good as, "Breakfast of Champions" or "Mother Night."
"Goddamnit you've got to be kind!"
Demonstrates a good knowledge of American history--impressive really.
Humor: excellent. very funny.
Eliot Rosewater: kind of a pathetic ideal. makes you suspicious of KV-whether this is what he actually thought of life, that it would be alright if only one had no less than 10L's of Kentucky Whiskey on hand, and a massive fortune to philanthrophize with.
Still one of my all time favorites.
Humor: excellent. very funny.
Eliot Rosewater: kind of a pathetic ideal. makes you suspicious of KV-whether this is what he actually thought of life, that it would be alright if only one had no less than 10L's of Kentucky Whiskey on hand, and a massive fortune to philanthrophize with.
Still one of my all time favorites.
Kurt Vonnegut's book, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is about money, power, and greed. The main character, Elliot Rosewater has abandoned his amazing lifestyle in New York to try an experiment of the human soul. He is a drunk, fat, dirty, and rich. He has a lot to give to the world and spends his time doing nice things for people, yet these people are so pitiable, they don't deserve it. Not everyone is happy with Eliot's work. Lawyers try to find him insane and unable to use the family fortune. The books switches between the lives of people Eliot helps, the depressing lives of some of them, the lawyers attempt to find Eliot insane and some Rosewater family history. Vonnegut makes you question Eliot's insanity or his overly niceness to the very end. It also questions the class system in America. The book has its funny moments. Overall it was an alright book and I recommend it if you want a quick, humorous read.
It's hard to critique Vonnegut
Vonnegut is one of those genius writers that you can't help but love. "Slaughterhouse 5" was my first venture into the realm of Vonnegut, but I have to say that I think I enjoyed this tale much more. Perhaps because the topic is closer to my heart, or perhaps I was able to identify more closely with the characters, I found this novel to be both thought provoking and utterly hysterical.
The short synopsis - The heir to a ridiculously large family fortune would rather spend his days helping the poor and destitute than attending the large social gatherings which his family feels he should prefer. Naturally this means that he is insane right? His family and one rather unscrupulous attorney seem to think so. They begin their plans on having him declared mentally incompetent, but he may have a trick or two up his sleeve.
I often find that I have to be in the right mood to read through a Vonnegut book, for some reason this one gripped me and I was done with it in less than 2 hours. The characters were hysterical, slightly caricaturistic and over the top, but entirely identifiable and comparable to someone we all know. This entire tale is a treatise on capitalism, money, redistribution of wealth, and the question of selflessness vs insanity. If you like Vonnegut, then this is already on your list. If you haven't encountered Vonnegut, give this book a try for an amusing look at true satire.
The short synopsis - The heir to a ridiculously large family fortune would rather spend his days helping the poor and destitute than attending the large social gatherings which his family feels he should prefer. Naturally this means that he is insane right? His family and one rather unscrupulous attorney seem to think so. They begin their plans on having him declared mentally incompetent, but he may have a trick or two up his sleeve.
I often find that I have to be in the right mood to read through a Vonnegut book, for some reason this one gripped me and I was done with it in less than 2 hours. The characters were hysterical, slightly caricaturistic and over the top, but entirely identifiable and comparable to someone we all know. This entire tale is a treatise on capitalism, money, redistribution of wealth, and the question of selflessness vs insanity. If you like Vonnegut, then this is already on your list. If you haven't encountered Vonnegut, give this book a try for an amusing look at true satire.
Another take on "How to be good"
There are similarities between the theme of this book and Nick Hornby's How to Be Good. It's hard to tell if they come to different or similar conclusions. Hornby suggests that one person or even one family is not able to fix what needs fixing in the world singlehandedly and shouldn't try; one should instead try to keep oneself functional and have much more modest ambitions as regards altruism. In this book, Vonnegut uses satire and exaggeration to point out the "craziness" and yet the necessity of loving others unconditionally, even when there seems to be little to love about them, or when there are some very good reasons for withholding love, e.g. alcohol addiction or a criminal record. Both deal with the basic question of what attitude we should have toward people in need whose acquaintance doesn't seem to promise us any personal advantage.
I originally chose this book because of a New York Times article - it was about deodorant use, and it cited this book as describing a country where odors, thought to be society's biggest problem, were finally eliminated by eliminating people's noses. I found it an interesting premise and kept reading and reading to find it, but it didn't turn up until almost the end of the book, as a half-page summary of one of the science fiction books the protagonist had read. Ah well, at least I found it, and I ended up reading a book I probably wouldn't have picked up or even known about otherwise.
I give this book four stars first because it felt quite disconnected, jumping from one incident and set of thoughts of a certain character to another. There are paragraphs with profound insights that I enjoyed and agreed with, e.g. about the value and drawbacks of imperfect human life vs. boring ethereal perfection (disguised as a novel the protagonist was writing), or the part about language teaching on planets that had previously used only mental telepathy (from a book by a science fiction writer the protagonist likes), but these bits seemed to be thrown in simply because the author found them worthwhile and had no other handy place to put them. Maybe they were seeds of ideas that Vonnegut didn't have the time, motivation or adequate material to develop into whole books.
Second, for a long time I was wondering where the story would go, and why what I was reading at any given moment was worth getting through. I suppose in the end it did all contribute to the final point Vonnegut wanted to make, but you have to wade through quite a bit of frivolousness to get there. The book is short, but the silliness prevented me from sticking with it too long in one sitting - I mostly had to take it one or two chapters at a time then put it down for a while.
I think _Rosewater_ was worthwhile, though, and if you're a Vonnegut fan, and/or enjoy philosophical farce, you might like it too.
I originally chose this book because of a New York Times article - it was about deodorant use, and it cited this book as describing a country where odors, thought to be society's biggest problem, were finally eliminated by eliminating people's noses. I found it an interesting premise and kept reading and reading to find it, but it didn't turn up until almost the end of the book, as a half-page summary of one of the science fiction books the protagonist had read. Ah well, at least I found it, and I ended up reading a book I probably wouldn't have picked up or even known about otherwise.
I give this book four stars first because it felt quite disconnected, jumping from one incident and set of thoughts of a certain character to another. There are paragraphs with profound insights that I enjoyed and agreed with, e.g. about the value and drawbacks of imperfect human life vs. boring ethereal perfection (disguised as a novel the protagonist was writing), or the part about language teaching on planets that had previously used only mental telepathy (from a book by a science fiction writer the protagonist likes), but these bits seemed to be thrown in simply because the author found them worthwhile and had no other handy place to put them. Maybe they were seeds of ideas that Vonnegut didn't have the time, motivation or adequate material to develop into whole books.
Second, for a long time I was wondering where the story would go, and why what I was reading at any given moment was worth getting through. I suppose in the end it did all contribute to the final point Vonnegut wanted to make, but you have to wade through quite a bit of frivolousness to get there. The book is short, but the silliness prevented me from sticking with it too long in one sitting - I mostly had to take it one or two chapters at a time then put it down for a while.
I think _Rosewater_ was worthwhile, though, and if you're a Vonnegut fan, and/or enjoy philosophical farce, you might like it too.
Although it's probably destined to wallow in the monolithic shadows of Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is a superb novel and an easy gem (albeit a relatively minor one) in the Vonnegut canon. At heart, it's a sharp, satirical, and darkly funny portrait of American capitalism at its worst, and a genuinely engrossing tale of one man's attempt to change things for the better.
The man in question is Eliot Rosewater, a drunken volunteer fire fighter and renegade philanthropist. He's also the privileged heir to a massive family fortune and the President of a charitable organization that was established by his family as a thinly veiled tax shelter. After an eventful stint in the Second World War, Eliot decides to use his vast wealth in order to help people. He moves to a desperately poor town named after his family, and makes it his mission to unconditionally love and support every human being that asks for his help. When his family learns that he's actually using a charitable organization's funds to carry out acts of charity, he's declared everything from irresponsible to insane. Soon, his wife is divorcing him, his father is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and a conniving lawyer is carrying out a devious plan to take a chunk of the Rosewater fortune for himself.
In Vonnegut's hands, this disturbingly realistic premise becomes the ideal framing device for his own razor-sharp commentary on class, wealth, greed, politics, love, and the ever-elusive American Dream. The story is told with plenty of characteristic dark humor and sly sarcasm, balanced by a genuine affection for humanity and an oddly graceful ending.
It's not his best novel- the story does drag in a few places, and there is a notable lack of focus- but its still an excellent work. Get this if you're a Vonnegut fan.
The man in question is Eliot Rosewater, a drunken volunteer fire fighter and renegade philanthropist. He's also the privileged heir to a massive family fortune and the President of a charitable organization that was established by his family as a thinly veiled tax shelter. After an eventful stint in the Second World War, Eliot decides to use his vast wealth in order to help people. He moves to a desperately poor town named after his family, and makes it his mission to unconditionally love and support every human being that asks for his help. When his family learns that he's actually using a charitable organization's funds to carry out acts of charity, he's declared everything from irresponsible to insane. Soon, his wife is divorcing him, his father is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and a conniving lawyer is carrying out a devious plan to take a chunk of the Rosewater fortune for himself.
In Vonnegut's hands, this disturbingly realistic premise becomes the ideal framing device for his own razor-sharp commentary on class, wealth, greed, politics, love, and the ever-elusive American Dream. The story is told with plenty of characteristic dark humor and sly sarcasm, balanced by a genuine affection for humanity and an oddly graceful ending.
It's not his best novel- the story does drag in a few places, and there is a notable lack of focus- but its still an excellent work. Get this if you're a Vonnegut fan.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has a Gift.
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is not unlike other satirical pieces by Vonnegut in its wit and flow and style. The piece does, however, win my hands down approval as my personal favorite by him. It is a very fun read on many levels, humorous and ironically frightening. A must have for any literature aficionado.
This is perhaps the most underrated piece of American fiction in the last 50 years. Much more complex than a traditional anti-affluence screed too often attributed to this work, it's drives right at the heart of what women and men are good for, whether we, all of us, are productive, are lovable. Also entertaining but read it for what it has to say about what to do with the 90% of us who are generally unproductive (both rich and poor!).
Mark Twain, Orwell, Houellebecq, Vonnegut. Without a doubt some of the best social science out there was not produced in Ivy League schools but out of cranky typewriters in a basement (well, Vonnegut was in Cornell). From the first devastating sentence on (money and honey) this book is a direct indictment of inherited wealth and the so-called "free-enterprise" system. For Vonnegut innovation and creativity are not related to acummulation, but stealing is. Vonnegut shares with Thorstein Veblen (cited on the text) his admiration for people that really do productive things, and mixes it with the sadness of somebody who knows what is going to happen to those people in the "service economy". The end of the book seems abrupt, but is very sweet and rewarding ("yeah!" I screamed). By the way, please note that the baddest character in the book is not the rich and conservative senator but the lawyer trying to steal his way into riches. So true.
Enjoyable, well-crafted satire
Others have described the plot of this book quite adequately; I'd just like to add my own personal thumbs-up! I've read only one other Vonnegut book so far -- Breakfast of Champions -- but I'm already a big fan! Vonnegut is brilliant at tweaking the establishment in a blatant yet subtle way. And I love his sense of place -- places he's spent time in: Indianapolis, rural Indiana, New England. This book was a joy to read, and I'm looking forward to reading more of his books!
This Kurt Vonnegut novel looks at Eliot Rosewater, a rich eccentric who decides to make the world (or at least his town) a better place. Rosewater is rich, drunk, blessed with a social conscience, and he sets out to help improve the lives of the lonely, the ignored, and the losers in the town of Rosewater, Indiana. For this philanthropy Rosewater is seen as insane or close to it. The story looks at both Mr. Rosewater and some of the people whose world he brightens. The book is a bit depressing at times, but contains a powerful message and quite a bit of critique at greed, hypocrisy and other human frailties. Some may note the similarity of two names (Rosewater, Roosevelt) who believed in helping people. This novel doesn't have quite the power of Vonnegut's top works like SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, but it's an entertaining read.
Not one of Vonnegut's best, but a good book.
GOD BLESS YOU MR. ROSEWATER was a fun book to read bit it went nowhere! Until I got to the last I was waiting for something exciting to happen, but that excitement never came.
The story is of Eliot Rosewater who is the president of the enormously rich Rosewater Foundation. Eliot gives money to anyone who asks and gives everyone his kindness and love. But Norman Mushari, a nasty lawer, is out to prove that Eliot is insane and the family foundation should be givin to a distant cousin.
This book was published in 1965 and was one of Kurt Vonnegut's first 5 books. This is a good book but definately not one of the esteemed writers best.
This book is a fun quick read, and I would recommend reading it, but anyone under the age of 15 it would bore the hell out of them.
The story is of Eliot Rosewater who is the president of the enormously rich Rosewater Foundation. Eliot gives money to anyone who asks and gives everyone his kindness and love. But Norman Mushari, a nasty lawer, is out to prove that Eliot is insane and the family foundation should be givin to a distant cousin.
This book was published in 1965 and was one of Kurt Vonnegut's first 5 books. This is a good book but definately not one of the esteemed writers best.
This book is a fun quick read, and I would recommend reading it, but anyone under the age of 15 it would bore the hell out of them.
I have only read a few Vonnegut books, and this is definately my favorite. It shows how greedy modern man is. Mr. Rosewater is ungreedy with his money, and because of this he is labeled insane and unfit to control his assets. A great book and I reccomend it to all Vonnegut fans.
Very good story of the greedy modern man
I thought Vonnegut wrote a great story about how greed clouds your vision. It is a very original story, and I thought it was both funny and sad. I thought it was funny how when a man was not greedy with his wealth, and handed it out freely, the hero was lebeled insane and locked up. I recomend this book to any Vonnegut fan.
A very heartening story about the life of somewhat regular people. That is, not extravagent. Although very eccentric, but that's what one expects from KV. The story is pretty strong, and very funny along the way. Not a good first-time read from Vonnegut.
this one's for all the firemen.
I've been through most of the Vonnegut collection, and this is one of the better ones. The thing I love about Vonnegut, is he creates all these peripheral characters and Trout sci-fi plots that are such wonderful ideas in and of themselves. I wish he would explore them more fully. I especially would have liked to read more about Lila. Well, I guess it goes to show you good ideas are a dime a dozen.
One of the best Vonnegut Books!
I would have to say that this book is one of the best Vonnegut books ever. This book releases a message to all of its readers. It has a strong story line and the characters are not all that different from our friends and our family. This book honestly changed the way that I looked at life and I would recommend the book to anyone and everyone. Take a chance and read it. This book has all of the elements that you could ever want: Humor, Satire, Irony, Sadness, and resolution. Long live Mr. Rosewater!
Read the book again after 20 years
I just finished reading this book for the first time since I was in college - and I am 43 now. It is much different than I remember it. Being a book about money and distribution of same, it is natural and right that I would see it much differently now, after being emeshed for years in the workaday capitalistic world, than when I was an idealistic college student. However, having said that, I wonder how much of the book REALLY is about money, and how much of it is really about pride, humanitarianism, and being a friend. Elliot Rosewater simply wants the world to be a better place. He does not really deceive himself into thinking that money itself is a cureall - he seems to understand that charity, in and of itself, is not the answer. Self respect and holding one's head up is. Is Elliot really crazy? Heck, yes! But just because he's crazy does not mean that all of his ideas and thoughts are insane. Like most of Vonnegut's books, this is a fable - you could pick it apart all day if you like on the facts and the contradictions - but that would not diminish it. It is a fine fable, and contains many truths. It's a good book.
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