The sirens of Titan

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Kurt Vonnegut: The sirens of Titan (1986, Gollancz)

224 pages

English language

Published Aug. 11, 1986 by Gollancz.

ISBN:
978-0-575-03819-6
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OCLC Number:
13009486

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5 stars (2 reviews)

"His best book," Esquire wrote of Kurt Vonnegut's 1959 novel The Sirens of Titan, adding, "he dares not only to ask the ultimate question about the meaning of life, but to answer it." This novel fits into that aspect of the Vonnegut canon that might be classified as science fiction, a quality that once led Time to describe Vonnegut as "George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer ... a zany but moral mad scientist."

The Sirens of Titan was perhaps the novel that began the Vonnegut phenomenon with readers. The story is a fabulous trip, spinning madly through space and time in pursuit of nothing less than a fundamental understanding of the meaning of life. It takes place at a time in the future, when "only the human soul remained terra incognita ... the Nightmare Ages, falling roughly, give or take a few years, between the …

30 editions

I loved every bit of this book.

5 stars

8 days ago I picked up a different book entirely - one of the classics - and found myself really struggling to get into it. After an hour I'd read the same 20 pages 3 or 4 times. It was no good, I wasn't enjoying it at all - something must be done!

So I put it down and instead reached into the bookshelf for comfort and enjoyment and my hand came across Kurt Vonnegut, as it so often has before.

This book was what the doctor ordered.

This book took me through time and space but mostly just through humanity.

This book taught me everything and nothing - as all good books should.

This book had me laughing out loud in the OBA Public Library, Oosterdokskade, Amsterdam Centraal, Holland, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.

And so it goes.

Review of 'The Sirens of Titan' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The thought that always dominates my mind when reading Vonnegut is the wish that I had read him when I was younger. I also wish that more young people come to read him and love his work. The reason for this is that he presents a way of looking at life and living that is kinder, gentler, and wiser than what our current society tends to teach us. He does not use any religious dogma to arrive at his wonderful perspective. He has a remarkable ability to put a smile on our faces, all the while criticizing our values and worldviews. He manages to do this in 'The Sirens of Titan' as well.

I did enjoy this book, and it did make me think of my own perspectives and values. I thought this book was the strongest towards the beginning and towards the end. The middle part is slightly sluggish …