/lit/ - Literature

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Anonymous Thu Oct 2 21:39:13 2014 No.5523404 [Reply] [Original]

Just finished this book, I thought it was great

I know Vonnegut gets a lot of hate around here (undeservedly), which I think is mostly due to people reading his work early on in life (late teens), which makes them feel like since they read it when they were young, it offers nothing of merit. But anyway, that's neither here nor there.

I loved this book. Deceptively deep and hilarious at points too. I've also read SH5 by Vonnegut, where I was introduced to Trafaldamorians. They play a huge role in this novel as well, particularly towards the end. Why did Vonnegut completely change what they looked like? In SH5, if I remember correctly, they were a stick with a hand having an eye on it's palm. In SoT, they were robots. Am I missing something here?

I also have some questions regarding symbolism in the novel:

Did the Sirens represent multiple things? At the start of the novel, I thought they represented almost the predictability of man, and how by Rumfoord showing them to Malachi, he thought it would cement Malachi making the trip to mars. By the end, it seemed like the represented something different, wherein Malachi drained Rumfoord's pool to reveal them, yet still managed to leave Titan and return to earth to die. I'm not too familiar with greek mythology or Ulysses, but did he not have to avoid the sirens in order to return home? I don't know, I feel like I'm missing something here as well.

Also, what was the significance of the fountain? I know it means something since it was mentioned twice, beginning and end, and the firetruck sprayed water when Malachi first arrived back on Earth.

Also Vonnegut general I guess, not sure what to read next. I have Hocus Pocus here, but I don't know if I want to read something by a different author before I tackle more Vonnegut.

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