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The Sirens of Titan

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 37,656 ratings · 1,505 reviews

The Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course there’s a catch to the invitation—and a prophetic vision about the purpose of human life that only Vonnegut has the courage to tell...more

Paperback, 326 pages

Published September 8th 1998 by Dial Press Trade Paperback (first published 1959)

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Aug 02, 2011 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: award-nominee-hugo, signed-first-or-limited-edition, science-fiction, classics, classics-americas, 1954-1969, audiobook, literature, humor-and-satire

5 THINGS I KNOW I learned from reading Sirens of Titan

1. Kurt Vonnegut was a brilliantly insightful GENIUS whose brain waves were ever so slightly out of phase with our universe making complete comprehension of his work by the rest of us impossible;
2. In the hands of a master, literature can be both incredibly entertaining and soul-piercingly deep;
3. Vonnegut had a rock hard MAD on the size of a Dyson Sphere against Organized Religion;
4. Winston Niles Rumfoord is a Gigantanormous, Hobbit-blowin...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Kedar rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, to-reread, favourite-books, read-in-2012

Do you read a Vonnegut book, or does the book read you? Does it expose your thoughts to the most detailed analysis of humanity, human behavior, and human mind and then tells you to not give a damn? Except that it also seizes the phrase 'to not give a damn' from your control. Leaves you hanging midair. Questioning.

So what to do? What is to be done? Apart from whatever has already been done?

You go beyond the story. See Unk staring at you pointedly with a hazy gaze. Figure out if he thinks whether...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Madeleine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: head-in-the-clouds-nose-in-a-book, our-libeary, mmxii

Since discovering that I love me some Vonnegut a few years ago after a humorless eighth-grade English teacher nearly kept me from ever giving him another go, I've read a not immediately dismissive number of his works. And they've all left me in various degrees of speechless. It can't be helped. He delights me in the way that only a favorite writer can.

Reading Vonnegut makes me realize that there's nothing I can say that he hadn't already said better and more cleverly. And that's not really a ba...more

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Jun 27, 2009 Manny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, well-i-think-its-funny

I'll start with a roundabout introduction. Garry Kasparov was not just one of the best chessplayers of all time, he was also one of the best analysts. Even as a teenager, he was always coming up with the most amazing ideas. Chessplayers often prefer to hoard their ideas; it can be worth a lot to surprise your opponent in a critical game, and there are many stories about grandmasters keeping a new move in the freezer for years, or even decades. Kasparov asked his trainer if he should be hoarding...more I'll start with a roundabout introduction. Garry Kasparov was not just one of the best chessplayers of all time, he was also one of the best analysts. Even as a teenager, he was always coming up with the most amazing ideas. Chessplayers often prefer to hoard their ideas; it can be worth a lot to surprise your opponent in a critical game, and there are many stories about grandmasters keeping a new move in the freezer for years, or even decades. Kasparov asked his trainer if he should be hoarding too. "No, Garry!" came the sage reply. "Use them now! You'll get new ones." And, indeed, this turned out to be a correct prediction.

Kurt Vonnegut wrote Sirens of Titan early in his career, and I wonder if he didn't receive similar advice. The novel contains enough ideas for half a dozen normal books, and fairly bubbles with creative energy. I like it much more than Slaughterhouse Five, and I've always wondered why it isn't better known. I suppose it doesn't actually make sense; but, for goodness sakes, do things always have to make sense? Free associating for a moment, Candide, A Grand Day Out and the Old Testament are all undisputed masterpieces. None of them make sense, and they would be greatly diminished if they did. Put them together and package the result as a 50s SF novel, and you might get something a little bit like Sirens.

So, you have a naively optimistic central character, who suffers the most appalling reverses of fortune in a way that somehow ends up being more comic than tragic; but, instead of going to South America, he spends most of the book wandering around a Solar System which is very slightly more credible than Nick Park's cheese-flavored Moon. He's pursued by a God who's rather too fond of elaborate practical jokes, but who is simultaneously trying to use the story to convey deep truths about the meaning of life. Unless He's just kidding. It's a bit hard to tell, but isn't that normal for pronouncements made under the influence of divine inspiration?

I see I've left out all the good bits. I haven't mentioned the chrono-synclastic infundibulum. Or Bea's sonnet, "Every Man's an Island", about how to breathe in space. Or Salo, and his message for the people at the other end of the Universe. Or Universal Will to Become. Or even the Sirens. If you haven't already done so, why don't you buy the book and check them all out for yourself? It's an easy read, and it even has a happy ending. I think.

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Aug 17, 2007 Jeff St.onge rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi

The Sirens of Titan is a rare masterwork, a novel with broad and varied powers. It is an elusive book that seeks you out, a panorama of arresting images, a cosmic drama played out across the galaxy and set in the devices of the future but capturing eternal beauty as though in indestructible stone. At its simplest, it is the story of Malachi Constant, who despite his egotistical intentions, endures mental and physical suffering, isolation, and the loss of his own identity in order to be reunited...more

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Aug 25, 2007 Lorenzo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007-readings, american, aaa-my-library

Kurt Vonnegut at his best.
I've bought this book at Shakespeare & Co. in Vienna. Actually I was looking for "Cat's cradle" but there the bookseller -I guess he was Canadian, by the way- has suggested me to take this one. It has been a bit difficult to find this novel among the highest shelves of that small and cosy bookshop but I've managed to. Standing on the old wooden ladder of Shakespeare & Co. I've risked to fall down twice. Anyway, I'm safe and sound.

And I've got my Sirens of Titan....more

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Apr 03, 2007 Mrs. McGregor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, sci-fi, favorites

Vonnegut takes the reader through an emotional space-coaster ride as he convinces us life is full of good and bad luck, life is meaningless, God is indifferent, we are pawns in mundane tasks for other worlds, and finally, the reason that we are all here (I won't give it away, though).

He was able to create characters that we sympathized with while we disliked them. In fact, I don't think there is anyone in this book you will outrightly like. But the closest you will come is feeling very sorry for...more

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Jul 14, 2012 ☽ Moon ☯ 佛月球 Будда Луны rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to ☽ Moon ☯ by: Harold

The polemic often hilarious narrative of Kurt Vonnegut moves towards the dense unstability of Time , tapping the unobtrusive forces in the Universe, as he tries to unravel the mysteries surrounding existence in relation to its COSMOLOGICAL VESSEL , the Unknown Vastness of Space that despotically envelopes it in absolute rule, merging the magical realism of science fiction and the breadth of human philosophy with sheer comical wit, as he creatively distorts the established known logic of the Cosm...more

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May 23, 2007 Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone, especially people interested in politics.

Shelves: fiction, own, recommended, favorites

I was wary of picking up Vonnegut for a long time, because even though he's such a well regarded author, his plots are so science fiction based, and I have little to no interest in science fiction. After asking for book recommendations for my trip to Europe, my friend Amanda recommended this to me and I trust her taste, so I figured it was time for me and Vonnegut to get together. And I am so glad that we did.

As anticipated, yes, the plot was a bit ridiculous and very science fiction based, but...more

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May 22, 2012 R.L. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, kindle

[May 22, 2012]
The answer is yes, the book stood the test of time for me.

Thing about it is: ~~most of~~ the human characters in this book are really ~~mean~~ ~~hateful~~ ~~reprehensible~~ despicable. They're cruel to each other, they use each other, and sometimes they even murder each other. And yet, somehow, Vonnegut manages to make you feel compassion for them.

How?

I think it's because he's able to convince you that they're all doing the best they can. They all do what they have to do, given their extremely t...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Lori (Hellian) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Vonnegut is my new God. I can't believe I haven't read anything else by him after reading Galapagos back in 85. For real? I do remember really liking it, being quite enthused, but it seemed like his other big book was Slaughterhouse Five, which I didn't want to read. Isn't it about a prison camp for captured soldiers? Or something like that? I don't like reading stories like that, there's enough horror in real life.

But what was I thinking? I guess at the time I was too busy trying to become some...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Gyula rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, scifi

Being a sci-fi fan, I don't really know why I haven't read this book earlier. It's a classic one.

The Sirens of Titan is very well written, I enjoyed the unmistakable style of Vonnegut. His satiric voice is famous, and is a trade mark of his stories. His choice of words is very good.

Using important subjects, for example religion, the book mocks at the human nature, which sometimes can take strange curves.

The story is funny, and often surprising. Vonnegut don't spare the characters, he gives them...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Eustachio rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, romanzi, statunitensi

Non mi ha sorpreso scoprire che questo romanzo ha influenzato Douglas Adams per la Guida galattica. Il bello di Vonnegut però è che non si limita ad ammucchiare scenette demenziali e assurdità fantascientifiche fini a se stesse: ne Le sirene di Titano coesistono personaggi a tutto tondo e eserciti di Marte, creature che si nutrono di musica e — rimanendo sempre in ambito Adams — riflessioni sulla vita, l'universo e tutto quanto.
È uno di quei cosiddetti romanzi per cui la fantascienza è solo un p...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Nick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I avoided this one for a while, because I thought his earlier work might be less developed, less inventive, and because I wanted to avoid the overtly science-fiction work and read his ideas about humanity.

Now that I've read it, I see what all the fuss is about. I knew Vonnegut had been an influence on Douglas Adams, but I didn't realise just how much until I'd read this book.

Many of the elements in Hitchhiker's Guide appear in here first: the hapless Earthling unintentionally being sent around f...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Paul JB added it · review of another edition

I wouldn't say this is among Vonnegut's best work, but there's plenty of interest here if you're a fan of his irreverent, future-farcical style. At the thematic level, TSOT revolves around the impossibility of fulfilling (or even mildly impacting upon) the desires of a theoretical God. As such, Vonnegut presents us with a number of godlike figures (Rumfoord, the Tralfamadorans), all of whom are eventually revealed to be far from omnipotent, and a number of lesser beings (humans, the Harmoniums,...more I wouldn't say this is among Vonnegut's best work, but there's plenty of interest here if you're a fan of his irreverent, future-farcical style. At the thematic level, TSOT revolves around the impossibility of fulfilling (or even mildly impacting upon) the desires of a theoretical God. As such, Vonnegut presents us with a number of godlike figures (Rumfoord, the Tralfamadorans), all of whom are eventually revealed to be far from omnipotent, and a number of lesser beings (humans, the Harmoniums, even the bluebirds), none of whom manage to achieve any sort of purpose beyond the sheer fact of their existence.

Structurally the book is somewhat scattergun in its approach - though it begins by focusing quite intently on Malachi Constant, the closest thing TSOT has to a protagonist (although, I would perhaps question whether 'protagonist' is a valid concept in a world where free action is so palpably impossible), the narrative has no qualms about jumping around the different 'actors' (it is hard to avoid the term) to give us a bigger perspective on what is going on. This is fair enough, but it also means that interesting concepts and scenarios are a little too hastily dispensed with at times. In particular, I would have been interested to read more about The Church Of God The Utterly Indifferent, and Vonnegut's (I assume tongue in cheek) subsequent utopia.

The other major gripe I have is that whereas Unk's 'crimes' are fairly indisputable (at least, given the morality of the book as a whole), the crime of Bee (as I understood it) was that she was frigid; what's more, at one point she seems to thank Unk for essentially raping her in an earlier chapter, a development which I thought a little unpalatable. I'm not suggesting that characters in books should act morally at all times (how dull that would be!), but I did feel it was a bit of a radical turn for a quite two-dimensional character to suddenly take, and it did occur to me that maybe some of Vonnegut's own prejudices were accidentally seeping though.(less)

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May 08, 2010 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Interested in Vonnegut but leaning sci-fi rather than politics

Shelves: science-fiction

If I told you that there was a writer out there that blended the witty satirical edge of the American legend Mark Twain with science fiction elements such as foreign worlds and strange alien beings, you should probably be excited. You should also probably all ready know that Kurt Vonnegut is that man.

Although I would say that "The Sirens of Titan" is thus far my least favorite of the Vonnegut novels, which I have read about a third of, that is not to say its bad. It is still a very good and fun...more If I told you that there was a writer out there that blended the witty satirical edge of the American legend Mark Twain with science fiction elements such as foreign worlds and strange alien beings, you should probably be excited. You should also probably all ready know that Kurt Vonnegut is that man.

Although I would say that "The Sirens of Titan" is thus far my least favorite of the Vonnegut novels, which I have read about a third of, that is not to say its bad. It is still a very good and fun book. It is only his second novel, and his first foray into the Vonnegut niche he is known for, after the slightly more serious-edged debut "Player Piano." All of Vonnegut's signatures are featured in "The Sirens of Titan," from the religious parody of The Church of God The Utterly Indifferent, to the recurring alien race known as the Tralfamadorians, a technologically advanced race of robotic sort-of-creatures.

The biggest reason why I would say that "Sirens" isn't quite up to par with Vonnegut['s best work is that it takes quite a bit of time to get rolling. For the first third or so of the novel, it never really gets beyond mildly amusing. Once the narrative switches to be set on Mars, and focuses on the character "Unk," however, the book really takes off and becomes both poignant and often very funny.

While later Vonnegut works seemed to parody one subject in particular, such as "Cat's Cradle" being a critique on religion, "The Sirens of Titan" is a bit scatterbrained in that sense. Vonnegut juggles and manages to poke fun at a myriad of subject matter, including religion, Earth society, the military, and others. Despite this, it manages to be quite adept at dealing with all of these issues.

Although I wouldn't put it up as high as "Slaughterhouse-Five" or "Breakfast of Champions," this is still a very enjoyable and well-written piece. It says something of the caliber of Vonnegut's body of work when his weakest still gets four stars for me, and a well deserved four stars at that. (less)

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Aug 25, 2008 Nicholas rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comedy, philosophy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Disappointing. Really was. The story was lacking and the philosophy was thin. Not worth reading. Some good quotes though.

Actually, the quotes were really good.

Quotes:

"Winston Niles Rumfoord's smile and handshake dismantled Constant's high opinion of himself as efficiently as carnival roustabouts might dismantle a Ferris wheel."

"Look forward to behaving aristocratically without any outward proofs your aristocracy. Look forward to having nothing but the dignity and intelligence and tenderness that...more

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May 07, 2011 Nathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Vonnegut's done it again. He consistently manages to wrap deep meaning and sage commentary on the human condition in a context of an absurd-yet-achingly-simple plot. Chalked full of typically whimsical one-liners and witty jokes plugged here and there, Vonnegut tackles an ambitious topic in The Sirens of Titan: what is our position in the universe? Is it deterministic? What role does fate and luck play? Is there someone up there who seems to care about us?

The settings range from the exotically d...more Vonnegut's done it again. He consistently manages to wrap deep meaning and sage commentary on the human condition in a context of an absurd-yet-achingly-simple plot. Chalked full of typically whimsical one-liners and witty jokes plugged here and there, Vonnegut tackles an ambitious topic in The Sirens of Titan: what is our position in the universe? Is it deterministic? What role does fate and luck play? Is there someone up there who seems to care about us?

The settings range from the exotically dry caves filled with flourescent creatures on Mercury to a lush moon of Saturn, Titan. Vonneguts descriptive quirks shine as he introduces each setting in its context of the universe (e.g. New England, USA, North America, Earth, Milky Way). It's an incredibly down-to-earth science fiction novel, as focus is placed on how humans interpret their purpose in the universe.

Kurt focuses his laser beam on a core set of characters who, collectively, change and evolve through a full range of human positions during the gracefully unfolding plot. Take the contrasting examples of Niles Rumfoord who transforms from god-like to pawn and Malachi Constant (Unk, Space Wanderer) who transitions from pawn to god-like.

As the plot unfurls, Vonnegut brilliantly introduces us to just how arbitrary and ephemeral our comfort and perspective on the meaning of life is. Just when everyone feels that they've figured out their greater purpose, purpose is revealed to be a part of a bigger, more absurd scheme. This continues ad infinitum to the size of the universe. When there is no longer an absolute to grab onto, Vonnegut ripples cascades of wisdom through his characters. Malachi realizes that "the purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved". Beatrice comes to grips with being a pawn: "the worst thing to happen to anybody would be to not be used for anything by anybody." Rumfoord, "sounded serene again, at peace with himself" and recognized that he succeeded in playing exactly his role in the universe, despite the role being defined by a complex mixture of others' master plans.

BREF: The Sirens of Titan is required reading. It's a fantastic novel that carries with it bags of meaning in the form of a clear meaning-of-life lesson. A rare gem.(less)

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Aug 18, 2008 Josh Cutting rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Oh what fools these humans be" is the phrase that comes to mind. Or to quote Lennon; "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

This most definately was Vonnegut's mantra when regarding the human race, and how we plan and scheme in the face of total futility. Whether we put our faith in god, or the total abscence of god, in a well ordered universe, or utter chaos and anarchy, there's ol' Kurt, sticking a saftey pin in everything we think we believe, and exposing both sides for t...more

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Nov 06, 2007 D. J. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book, more than any other perhaps, sparked a revolution in my thought. It is almost a cliche for any avid reader to namecheck Vonnegut as a huge influence. That said, "The Sirens of Titan" was and remains essential because it took satire and extended it into the outer reaches of the cosmos. Voltaire certainly paved the way with Micromegas, and Mark Twain was adept at combining satire with what later became Science Fiction; but, it was Vonnegut who fully realized the latent potential of such...more

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Aug 03, 2007 erg rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

This is my first review so I figured it best to start with a book that I know like the back of my hand. I've read everything that Vonnegut has ever written from 'Player Piano' to 'Man Without a Country' even squeezing in some of his screenplays in the middle such as 'Happy Birthday, Wanda June'. This is my personal recommendation for the Vonnegut book to read if you are only going to read one Vonnegut book (although Slaughterhouse Five, Cat's Cradle and Mother Night are all close to the top of t...more

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Aug 18, 2009 rmn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I had not read a Vonnegut book in about 15 years until I read this and I found something strangely familiar and inviting in his writing (and to be honest, I may have actually read this book before, so that could be part of it). Vonnegut's genius is in the simplicity of his language and the originality and accessibility of his stories which seek to convey his bitingly cynical and anti-establishment/anti-religion beliefs in the nicest way possible. He likes to tell you how everything sucks with a...more

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May 28, 2012 Alison Iris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book on Saturday and haven't been able to put it down! It is so funny and insightful that I had to go to the front and double check the publishing date - it just seems so modern. I love Vonnegut, and his quirkiness is just what I need after the pragmatic binge I've been on lately (Blink, Positive Intelligence, etc...)

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Apr 01, 2009 David rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Eh. Vonnegut thinks life is a bitch, and so has bitch-slapped some odd characters. Neither absurd nor insightful enough to be great. Indeed, there's something lazy about this book. And I can't be bothered to pin it down.

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Nov 02, 2007 brendan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: existentialists

another, from my perspective, but apparently one of the first hits from vonnegut. i loved this book. the ADD method vonnegut attacks his narrative and characters tingles my sensibilities, forcing me into a ball of giggling reader.

read the book with a friend and then drink a hundred cups of coffee and talk about the Universal Will To Become (UWTB) or the politics of the martian army, and hopefully realize that we can all be a Winston Niles Rumfoord, and then none of us need to bear all the weigh...more

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May 15, 2013 Tieu uyen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mình biết đến mỹ nhân ngư trước khi biết đến những cái lỗ đít của nhà vô địch, thích hơn trò lố ở lò sát sinh số 5. Cái này phải cảm ơn “Shakespeare và đồng bọn”, và cả những buổi chiều rảnh rỗi lang thang ở St. Michel.
Anh chàng cựu tù binh chiến tranh vẫn thường tự tử một cách sang trọng bằng việc hút thuốc lá, đã làm cho người đọc thấy được cuộc sống vốn dĩ chứa đầy những biến số, may mắn và bất hạnh, chiến tranh rồi hỗn loạn, sống rồi chết, khổ đau và mất mát, nhưng nếu không có tình yêu và...more

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May 14, 2013 Kit rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my favorite book I mildly dislike. The Sirens of Titan had none of the qualities I cite for cherishing stories-- its pages answered no profound questions, its characters were less developed than I prefer, its ending was neither elating nor deeply tragic. I decided that I disliked the book. Yet, for weeks, I retained a pervasive sense of mild discomfort. I decided that I still disliked the book but I admired it for making such a lasting impression.

Vonnegut has a talent for fitting extrao...more

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May 09, 2013 Adam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ah, Vonnegut. What can be said about you that won't end with noses browner than a sun-burnt banana? It's difficult, you know, to talk about a writer who could cut to the heart of darkness, stare it right in the eye, and then laugh at it. Not many people have that talent. Apparently, only Vonnegut could put that talent into writing. Well. I suppose a brown nose is a small price to pay for writing about an author like you.

This book, without giving too much away, is the collision of Oedipus, Candid...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Travis Babola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Sirens of Titan is Vonnegut's carefully crafted story that tries to tackle the big questions of life. Why are we here? What is our purpose? Do we really have any say in the matter?

The Sirens of Titan tells the story of Malachi Constant, a rich playboy who has breezed through life on the inheritance of his father. When Malachi's luck runs out, he is recruited on a journey by Mr. Winston Niles Ruumsford that takes him through the solar system. Through a bizarre series of events, he becomes the...more The Sirens of Titan is Vonnegut's carefully crafted story that tries to tackle the big questions of life. Why are we here? What is our purpose? Do we really have any say in the matter?

The Sirens of Titan tells the story of Malachi Constant, a rich playboy who has breezed through life on the inheritance of his father. When Malachi's luck runs out, he is recruited on a journey by Mr. Winston Niles Ruumsford that takes him through the solar system. Through a bizarre series of events, he becomes the main sacrificial figure of a religion that unites mankind on Earth after an attack from Mars.

It's worth noting that this novel was in the same spirit (albeit darker) as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. While Douglas Adams tells of the Great Green Artleseizure, in which the universe was created by a sneeze, Vonnegut creates The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent (of which is referenced in the previous paragraph). This religion has two main teachings: 1) that man can do nothing to please God because he has better things to do and 2) luck is not the hand of God. While Vonnegut was not a theist by any means, I would suppose that he would respect those that lived by these rules. In Sirens, mankind's worldwide adoption of this new religion puts the world at ease and ends the bickering between the many factions of religion.

(view spoiler)

Ultimately, through these adventures, Vonnegut tries to convey that life really has no meaning or higher purpose. We are here and that's that. He's a dark guy, but he tells a hell of a story. This is definitely worth picking up again.
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Apr 12, 2013 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

The Sirens of Titan is one of author Kurt Vonnegut's earlier works, published in 1959, and follows the journey of Malichi Constant, the wealthiest and most depraved man in the world, as he reluctantly travels the solar system.

At the start of Sirens, Constant is visiting the home of Winston Niles Rumfoord, an aristocratic space traveller whose ship accidentally flew into something called a chrono-synclastic infandibulum. As a result of this experience, Rumfoord's existence is stretched into a spi...more The Sirens of Titan is one of author Kurt Vonnegut's earlier works, published in 1959, and follows the journey of Malichi Constant, the wealthiest and most depraved man in the world, as he reluctantly travels the solar system.

At the start of Sirens, Constant is visiting the home of Winston Niles Rumfoord, an aristocratic space traveller whose ship accidentally flew into something called a chrono-synclastic infandibulum. As a result of this experience, Rumfoord's existence is stretched into a spiral through time and space, he regularly materializes and dematerializes at different places in the solar system, and he can see into the future. He informs the visiting Constant that he'll be travelling first to Mars, then to Mercury, then back to Earth, and finally to Titan, one of Saturn's moons. The defiant Constant refuses to believe him, but an ensuing period of excessive depravity ultimately sends him on the very trek that Rumfoord had described.

Vonnegut takes an remarkably humanist approach to the central idea behind Sirens, which is that the human race and all of its affairs don't mean doodly-squat. As Constant's journey hurdles toward discovering meaning, Rumfoord is coaxing the rest of humanity into his new religion, The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent, which preaches the comforting belief that meaning is pointless, and that God doesn't give a rat's behind for any of us. In his return to Earth, Constant sums up this dogma, and the theme of Sirens, in one sentence:

“I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.”

As one of Vonnegut's early works, Sirens shows hints of what would eventually become his signature style of humor-laden flippancy in a syncopated framework. He never lingers too long on any one thought or idea, but instead keeps the narrative moving along at warp speed. I love that he doesn't bother with over-explaining things, but instead lets the reader fill in the blanks.

For fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Charles Bukowski, Vonnegut is a must-read. If you're looking for a less-than-typical sci-fi read with plenty of sarcasm, you'll definitely enjoy The Sirens of Titan.(less)

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SciFi and Fantasy...: The Sirens of Titan: determinism or free will? (spoiler alert)	8	46	20. April, 12:42 Uhr

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About Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.

He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journali...more

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Quotes from The Sirens of Titan

“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.” — 1,478 people liked it

“I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.” — 485 people liked it

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The Sirens of Titan

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