Vonnegut is a favorite author of mine. Out of the books I own of his, Mother Night is the only one that I'd only read once. This would be the second time- 2009's first re-read, too!
This second time through was probably much like the first. I didn't remember terribly much of it. I've not seen the movie yet, either.
Mother Night is about an American in Germany during WWII. He was a writer and ended up being recruited as an American spy. He was to write and relay Nazi propaganda through coded radio broadcasts. The code was a series of stutters and coughs that was presented to him by persons unknown. As such, he had no idea the kind of information he was giving to the Americans.
After the war ended, he lived a quiet life, for the most part. Those who knew his name either loved or hated him. During the course of this story, Jerusalem begins looking for him to put him to trial. This sparks a series of meetings with new folks and a continuance of the lie he was living while he was a Nazi.
The style of this novel is somewhat unlike other Vonnegut novels, but still retains his charm. It's more serious and less bumbling, but still heart-wrenching. Vonnegut himself was a survivor of the attacks on Dresden, so much of his own experience is felt through his texts. I'd like to think that writing was a sort of catharsis for him, but one can never be sure. All I know is, "he's in Heaven now." 4.5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment