EngLit

izabellstrimb · Plunger Data inscrierii: 17/Mar/2011 Mesaje: 35

I enjoyed it very much, because the the language is pretty easy, and I could read it very quickly. I think it is a satire of greed, wealth, there is also a litle bit of guilt. Even in the beginning the books opening lines are:
"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 table about bless".
The plotline is very easy: It's about the Rosewater familly who inharited to much to quickly. This sum of money is invested by them in order to keep the government taxing their money. Eliot, the main character is a memorble character, because he trigers a chain of hilarious events, like ending up with 57 illegitimate children, killing accidentaly 3 fire fighters (tragic, but Vonnegut makes him hilarious whatever he does). Then he is shown sitting on the toilet surrounded by images form the "life and look" magazine. This also makes him kind of pathetic.

ana.bilan · Dunker Data inscrierii: 11/Noi/2009 Mesaje: 21

I have to admit that I really enjoyed this book. While reading it have laugh a lot and I want to share the funny moments that I like in the book. From the very beginning the reader is given the author wit and humour.
“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 tale about bees.
The sum was $87,472,033.61 ...”
One of the funniest moments in the book is when the senators come to the doctor to find out of Eliot disease
"'What is it?' I cried, thinking in spite of myself of Eliot stealing women's underwear, of Eliot snipping off locks of hair on subways, of Eliot as a Peeping Tom." The Senator from Indiana shuddered. "'Tell me, Doctor -- tell me the worst. Eliot is bringing his sexual energies to what?’ “To Utopia,' he said."
Frustration made Norman Mushari sneeze.
Also when Lance comes to Mushari and tells him that his mother can guess someone’s past.
“As Mushari was leaving the estate, Lance Rumfoord came loping after him. Predatorily genial, he towered over little Mushari, explained that his mother considered herself a great judge of character, and had made the guess that Mushari had once served in the United States Infantry.
"No."
"Really? She so seldom misses. She said specifically that you had been a sniper."
"No."
Lance shrugged. "If not in this life, in some other one, then." And he sneered and whinnied again.”
The way Vonegut describes the society is like he is living in nowadays and he is anticipating the future of how the society is going to be. The fact that this book was written almost 50 years ago is very interesting because our society is close to become like the society describe in the book. In now days many people can hardly live, do not have money to buy food and, I believe that in few years the society is going to die of starvation and who know, maybe in some years we will have some special places where people can commit suicide.

alexa_iliescu · Trimis: 15/06/2012 16:50 Titlul subiectului:

I feel that reading this novel is like sitting on a bench, having a coffee with someone who tells you some thingh about a person's life.
In the beginning, we are told that the main character of the novel is a sum of money. This unusual character caught the attention of opportunists like Norman Mushari. But in the end, we notice that the sum of money is not so important, at least for one character.
What caught my attention was Eliot's supposed insanity. I put on doubt his mental problems because he prooved to be very lucid in the end, and this is not the only reason. Let's think about some rich people from Romania, who have a wierd behaviour, are trying hard to show that they are rich and make a big fuss when they help somebody.
It is not a must to be educated and cultivated, if you are rich. Nowadays, we can see vary well this fact. The only thing which matters is money. Eliot is closer to these nonconformist people. He doesn't care about his image and a lot of things which a man with power and money wouldn't do. Because of this attitude he is supposed to be insane. Actually, he is out of the norm. And the question is: if someone places himself outside the norm, does that mean that pearson is insane?
To make an analogy, Gigi Becali falls in this cathegory and is far from being insane. His problem is that he is too exagerate. The fact that he is rich gives him trust and makes him believe that he can do everything and say everything. Also, he doesn't care about what others say.
Eliot is not a usual kind of rich person. He is not a fine gentleman who acts on the stage of high society. He is expected to do big things, but he cannot raise to the other's expectations (he's alcoholic, doesn't have a happy marriage, doesn't have children).
I also noticed that he doesn't care about prestige and image. The only thing he wants is not to be under pressure, to be left alone. I think his decision from the end does not have to do with himself, but with his father. He recognized all those women's kids to end the conflict and to elease his father from such a situation. For him, it seems to be the same if it is at home or in a sanatorium.