God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine by Kurt Vonnegut

First of all, this was not the cover on my library rental book but I very much wish it had been!

Second, it was a very Vonnegut book if it's possible to say so. Over the summer I read Galapagos by Vonnegut and was pretty much bored to tears and disappointed since I'm a huge fan of his, but this book was much better than that. It was slightly less the rating 5 I give Breakfast of Champions because of a few slow bits, but I think it was an enjoyable read on the whole. When I say it was very Vonnegut, I mean that his writing style does the story incredible justice -- the short sentences, the incredible frankness, the humor that is the result of human activity-- they're all present, and they all do quite well in laying out the Rosewater story.

Vonnegut's books are very human tales in that everyone has flaws, and that these flaws make for good (and sometimes sad, pathetic) humor. I liked that in the beginning I was wondering if Eliot Rosewater was really a craze-o or if he was simply the most sane person among all his haughty peers, and the fact that even until the last page there is still some dispute over his sanity. I think it's a story that someone who hadn't read Vonnegut could pick up and understand without having experience with his form or trends, but it certainly helps to understand this story having read others.

The ending actually confused me a bit at first, but it could be the fact that I tried to finish it while the TV was on in the background. I attempted to look up book reviews about it but the only good ones I found had to be paid for and I wasn't having that, so eventually I just interpreted based on what I've learned about his writing over the years and by reviewing the storyline in my head. I won't give it away, it was just an appropriate ending to a crazy book about a crazy man.

I was also simply glad to see the character Kilgore Trout, whose name and purpose I love. If you don't know the reference, just start reading your Vonneguts! Another simple pleasure is in the phrase "Pearls Before Swine."

I like it, I'm giving it a 4.5, and I'm moving on to more Vonnegut.