Tim's review
Player Piano
by Kurt Vonnegut
Tim's review
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
Tim's review
rating:
Unfortunately, Player Piano has never been my favorite Vonnegut novel. In fact, if memory serves, it’s my least favorite of the grandmaster’s work.
The plot, for those who are unfamiliar, deals with a near future United States where machines have been allowed to take over almost the entire spectrum of human decision making. Not only is our industry run by computers, but the very course of a person’s life is mapped out based on a test score that’s graded by a machine.
Within this society, of course, lives a protagonist who sees the problem with a culture that’s driven entirely by machine. Not surprisingly, he’s surrounded by friends and co-workers who he soon discovers share the same opinion.
The message in this novel is not unlike the theme that runs through many of Vonnegut’s later work. The problem with Player Piano, however, is that Vonnegut isn’t yet sounding like Vonnegut.
The language isn’t the dry, sarcastic, intellectual tone that readers love ...more
The plot, for those who are unfamiliar, deals with a near future United States where machines have been allowed to take over almost the entire spectrum of human decision making. Not only is our industry run by computers, but the very course of a person’s life is mapped out based on a test score that’s graded by a machine.
Within this society, of course, lives a protagonist who sees the problem with a culture that’s driven entirely by machine. Not surprisingly, he’s surrounded by friends and co-workers who he soon discovers share the same opinion.
The message in this novel is not unlike the theme that runs through many of Vonnegut’s later work. The problem with Player Piano, however, is that Vonnegut isn’t yet sounding like Vonnegut.
The language isn’t the dry, sarcastic, intellectual tone that readers love ...more
