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Jailbird is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut, originally published in The book is regarded as Kurt Vonnegut's "Watergate novel." The novel is narrated by. Someone who consistently gets sentenced to jail time and doesn't care. If they have to do a 4 year bid they would just eat it up like its nothing. They eat, sleep.
Cover of first edition hardcover. This article about a s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. I began reading this book just after finishing Anna Karenina and I am glad I did. It was essentially everything Anna Karenina was not in a good way. The prose was classic Vonnegut, light, fast paced and strangely hilarious. I look at Vonnegut as many look upon their grandfathers. There are the same corny jokes you've come to expect and despite their corniness you can't help but laugh and be pleased with them.
Jailbird was particularly interesting and at the same time confusing for me. The tale gets wrapped up in just as many historical events as it does fictional and there is also the mention and inclusion of many notable figures from the past or so years. In the end it doesn't matter where fact and fiction cross or where they diverge.
The book was fun and seemingly lighthearted and like Vonnegut always does he make some serious points. Here is a quote, that given our current economic crisis seems perfect: View all 5 comments. Feb 07, Ben Babcock rated it liked it Shelves: Jack Graham, a reclusive woman whom few people have met in person and who gives orders by telephone, confirming them by mailing a letter to her subordinates signed by fingerprints from both hands.
Starbuck is a Harvard man, a minor public servant who does time in a white-collar p One of the central conceits of Jailbird is that the RAMJAC corporation seems to own everything, and it is owned by Mrs. Starbuck is a Harvard man, a minor public servant who does time in a white-collar prison for tangential involvement in Watergate. Having lived through much of the twentieth century, Walter is the world-weary proxy for the author, able to use his decades of experience in the public service to demonstrate how, no matter what happens, this is life.
So it goes, eh? As the story goes on, Vonnegut introduces any number of improbably named supporting cast members, dipping into their lives to various degrees, and connecting them in ways both unlikely and realistically serendipitous. In these respects, Jailbird is typical Vonnegut fare, and for the first half or so, I was quite enjoying it. Despite the setbacks dealt to him, Walter was remarkably mellow.
So many protagonists of stories are heroes: Somewhere towards the back half, though, I began to check out. The novel starts to take weird twists and the plot begins to spiral outwards at an accelerated pace rather than in the tight, constant coils of the earlier part of the book. Some of this is a personal issue: I feel strange saying that, because I have no problem enjoying the myriad stories set in World War II, which is surely a world much more different from mine than America during Watergate.
Keeping up with the illegal activities President of the United States and his advisers was exciting in the s. Another disappointment peculiar to my tastes and preferences is the dearth of science fictional elements. No, just my mood in general at the time was hoping for more zany and unforgettable pulp sci-fi on the order of The Sirens of Titan. I will say this: I like the subtle way in which Vonnegut critiques both capitalism and communism here. Whenever we discuss critiques of communism in fiction, Orwell always dominates. Yet there is so much more to be said and so many other people saying it.
Latent in Jailbird seems to be the premise that World War II really fucked everything up in terms of capitalism versus communism in a way that few people anticipated. Though its cost in terms of lives was staggering and atrocious, it did jumpstart the economies of Europe and America, even as it triggered the long slide of Russian communism towards its eventual collapse.
But the social changes that accompanied the absence of young men from the workforce and the general fatigue with fighting that followed the war really altered the way in which people thought about work and acquiring profit. Oh, and having the ability to destroy all life on the planet with a few bombs also changed things. He illustrates how the decisions made following the war have influenced the rise of various corporate interests, a process that has continued towards a concerning climax in my time.
That RAMJAC is more of a trojan horse than anything is fun, though I wish Vonnegut had played with the idea more instead of just stating it flat out towards the end. Though still eminently Vonnegut in voice and style, it is not the an exemplar of his work. Sep 01, notgettingenough rated it really liked it Shelves: It strikes me, not for the first time whilst reading Vonnegut that writers can be divided into two camps.
Who was it who said that the more you like something you've written down, the more likely it is that you should take it out? And the ones who, even if what they say hits you with a jolt - and Vonnegut's lines often do that - they nonetheless It strikes me, not for the first time whilst reading Vonnegut that writers can be divided into two camps.
And the ones who, even if what they say hits you with a jolt - and Vonnegut's lines often do that - they nonetheless fit in. They aren't forced, they naturally belong just there where the reader sets upon them. There is a hilarious Kilgore Trout story about Einstein trying to get into heaven in Jailbird. He goes through an audit first and then: I don't mind so much the Republicans who embrace greed and general douche-baggery.
But it's those Republicans who cloak themselves in smug, moral self-righteousness, the ones who invoke God and think somehow Jesus would be on board with their selfish hypocrisy, that really annoy me. In the intro to Jailbird , Vonnegut refers to a letter he had recently received from a high-school reader who told Vonnegut he had read almost everything by him and wanted to share the single idea he found at the core o I don't mind so much the Republicans who embrace greed and general douche-baggery.
In the intro to Jailbird , Vonnegut refers to a letter he had recently received from a high-school reader who told Vonnegut he had read almost everything by him and wanted to share the single idea he found at the core of Vonnegut's life work: This most human and humane of authors who was an atheist and whose books have been burned by these same smug, sanctimonious conservative nutjobs has a better handle than they do on the gospel of Christ which, ironically enough, is the same message you'll find in those books that were burned.
In the intro as well, Vonnegut relates a lunch he had as a young man still in uniform, recently back in the U. The lunch was at a restaurant in Indianapolis with his uncle and father and a labor organizer named Powers Hapgood, who had attended Harvard with Vonnegut's uncle, who was politically rather conservative.
Vonnegut had told his uncle that he was interested in a labor union job and instead of discouraging him, his uncle had arranged the lunch with his Harvard classmate.
Hapgood had a colorful history; he had been jailed many times for his union activities, had led pickets at the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti, and in fact had just come to the restaurant after a morning of testifying in court about a labor case. The judge had asked him why a Harvard man like himself from a distinguished Indianapolis family had chosen to live the life he did. He told the judge, "Why? Because of the Sermon on the Mount, sir.
So I picked up Jailbird and just read it again, a book I first read maybe back in shortly after it was published, when I was the age of that fan who wrote Vonnegut the letter about the message at the core of his books. Having just finished Kurt Vonnegut's Letters , I remembered Jailbird as one of my least favorite Vonnegut books, and I wondered if maybe I had been too young to appreciate it at the time.
I could barely remember Jailbird ; I knew there was a bag lady and references to unions, but that was about it. Jailbird certainly hadn't become a part of my larger cultural consciousness, the way Cat's Cradle or SH-5 had. I had forgotten the title refers to the least significant of the Watergate conspirators, one Walter F. Starbuck, or that Kilgore Trout plays a minor role in this novel, too, as one of Starbuck's fellow prisoners in the minimum security facility in Georgia where Starbuck is being released after serving his sentence.
I had forgotten that Roy Cohn even makes a cameo appearance. In fact, I had forgotten almost everything about this novel, except for the sense that I didn't really like it that much the first time, and so I'm glad I gave it a re-read. I'm leaving my initial 3-star rating up there, although I'd be tempted to give the re-read 4 stars today. And I'm sure I enjoyed the book much more now than my year-old self did, being older and wiser and more compassionate now that I'm almost 50, as well as a dues-paying member of a union.
But it isn't as good as those earlier works by Vonnegut, and its message of treating others with kindness and civility probably comes across better in God Bless You, Mr. Still, I'm a better person for re-reading it, and the recent anti-labor movements in places like Wisconsin and Michigan make Vonnegut's concerns in this novel all the more relevant today. And my copy of the novel has a photograph on the back of the dust jacket of Vonnegut sitting on the edge of a bed looking out the window and talking on the phone, wearing a stocking cap and smoking what I assume is a Pall Mall.
On the window sill is a plate filled with smoked-out stubs.
And I like that too. This was my first foray into Kurt Vonnegut territory, and I expected to have stronger feelings one way or another about his work. Instead, I was mildly pleased when the book was finished and I could move on to something else. It is plain to see that there is a host of individuals out there who regard Vonnegut as an icon, and I will not presume to gainsay them. He simply did not strike a chord with me. Perhaps if I had read a book or two of his in my younger days, or chosen a different title for m This was my first foray into Kurt Vonnegut territory, and I expected to have stronger feelings one way or another about his work.
Perhaps if I had read a book or two of his in my younger days, or chosen a different title for my first Vonnegut reading? Unknown, but having read this one, there was simply nothing that makes me want to try another. And that is slightly disappointing. View all 15 comments. Nov 28, Steven rated it really liked it Shelves: Things did not work out that way. Rosewater , left me rather cold—this one, Jailbird , was much better. In fact, I'd say it's up there with his best. This is one of Vonnegut's more explicitly politically contemporary novels and one of his best--in his opinion as well as mine.
I snuck it in just before starting the second semester at Loyola University Chicago. Feb 03, Descending Angel rated it really liked it Shelves: Maybe Vonnegut's most political work, dealing with the Watergate scandal, attacking capitalism and communism and having a more serious approach to it even though it is still unmistakably Vonnegut. I wouldn't call this one of his top books, I would place quite a few above it, but it still is a fast paced and amusing joyride which only Vonnegut could write. Mar 05, Simon rated it liked it. Kurt Vonnegut's characters and plotlines are the literary equivalent of 'that's just how it be on this bitch of an earth' and I love it.
Jan 17, Katie rated it it was amazing. Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors, and he has yet to let me down. Other readers are correct in the pacing of this book - it moves along a bit slower than other Vonnegut novels, but this was probably intentional with the author constantly referencing what a sad, old, fragile man he had become. I can't think of a single time that I've witnessed a fragile old man rushing through his story. There were several things that made me fall in love with this story, which actually not my standard f Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors, and he has yet to let me down.
There were several things that made me fall in love with this story, which actually not my standard favorite things about Vonnegut novels.
This novel absolutely struck me with the kindness and true forgiveness between the characters this is also what made me fall in love with Les Miserables. I was absolutely struck with the scene where Starbuck and Clewes reunited: He didn't forgive him in the way that we often see and practice today: To me, this was absolutely beautiful - I had to read it a couple of times before I could move forward.
The protagonist, Walter, also struck me with his ability throughout the story to hold no grudge. One particular scene in the beginning stuck out to me quite a bit: Some of my favorite things with Vonnegut's writing shone brilliantly through his writing, yet again. Of course, I can't imagine that his great and often unexpected sense of humor could ever be left from one of his books.
I could not stop laughing after Walter was released from prison without his shoes, but refused to go back for them because of his fear that he would be re-arrested for putting a bowling trophy in a pile of his own feces. I also loved the intricacy of the story, and the amazing coincidences that caused all of the pieces of the story to fall together just so.
First I have to say that Mr.
Vonnegut is amazing, so I'm a bit biased. Vonnegut's books which you should want to do please don't start with this book. But then again Jailbird is much more straightforward in its story line then some of his other books so it might be a bit more accessible. I like how Mr. Vonnegut's writing skips around and truly makes no sense until about half way through when it starts to slowly come together. Jailbird is not like First I have to say that Mr.
Jailbird is not like that, but it kind of is. He drops some hints here and there about the ending foreshadowing would you call it? I will say that Jailbird does demonstrate Mr. Jailbird kind of combines his skipping around style with a more straight line style a la Player Piano. Yet through it all you can still hear Mr. So I would suggest Jailbird to anyone who has read a few other of Mr. Vonnegut's books, but not as your first. I would give you a synopsis of what happens, but that would be entirely too hard to do for a book by Mr.
Vonnegut and I would only end up telling you the whole story. I found this book in my bathroom and decided to read it. It was left there by a guest who was probably pooping when he was reading it. That's OK with me. About a third of the way through the book, Walter F. Starbuck, the hero though he would probably prefer we not call him that , finds a paperback book in a bathroom stall at an airport and decides to read it. I about fell off my chair.
When I was a senior in high school, I was introduced to Vonnegut and proceeded to read everything the man had I found this book in my bathroom and decided to read it.
When I was a senior in high school, I was introduced to Vonnegut and proceeded to read everything the man had ever written and would ever write. I'm glad to be reintroduced to him at this phase in my life though I'm not convinced Jailbird was the best book to do it besides having come across it in my bathroom. I did relearn a bunch about Sacco and Vanzetti though, so that was nice? I'm also going to be a bit kinder to grocery bag ladies on the street. This book does have some of my favorite dying words ever though: At least you tried to believe what people with hearts believed - so you were a good man just the same.
Maybe this really deserves four stars, I just can't tell anymore. For me, Of Human Bondage set the bar so high it's now unreachable and most likely all the ratings I've given since have suffered accordingly.
What did I learn from this book? Apparently that whole Sacco and Vanzetti thing was as important as that graphic novel I read about the wobblies said, it must have been because Vonnegut constantly references it throughout the book, according to the index at least a dozen times. Who puts an i Maybe this really deserves four stars, I just can't tell anymore. Who puts an index in a fictional novel? Anyways just your typical Vonnegut dark humor, fun but still far more insightful than most people often give him credit for.
On a related note: While reading a previous Vonnegut novel, my coworker picked it up and reading the back-cover where it describes the author as "known for his black humor" he says to me: Jailbird is a quintessentially Vonnegutian tale of rich-man guilt and the futility of capitalist America. The story is most effective when dealing with Walter's love interests.
Vonnegut captures the intensity and importance of relationships like no other writer, by stretching them throughout life, showing how love endures more than money or career success. He does this, of course, with dollops of sentimental irony. I think "sentimental ironist" isn't a bad summation of Vonnegut's style, though his Jailbird is a quintessentially Vonnegutian tale of rich-man guilt and the futility of capitalist America. I think "sentimental ironist" isn't a bad summation of Vonnegut's style, though his books always have a unique theme or thread running through them.
Jan 25, Charlie Weiss rated it it was amazing Shelves: I have officially given up on choosing a favorite Vonnegut. They're all amazing, which is why I'm reading every last one. Secondly, the fact that most of the facts referenced in this book are true. Like Sacco and Vanzetti, and Watergate. Here's my favorite part of this one: And then I regaled myself with a story by my prison friend Dr. Robert Fender, which he had pu I have officially given up on choosing a favorite Vonnegut. You could not get into heaven until you had submitted to a full review of how well you had handled the business opportunities God, through His angels, had offered to you on Earth.
All day long and in every cubicle you could hear the experts saying with utmost weariness to people who had missed this opportunity and then that one: I will make a guess: The hero was the ghost of Albert Einstein. He himself was so little interested in wealth that he scarcely heard what his auditor had to say to him.
You did have a remarkable number of opportunities, whether you took them or not. For instance, just forgetting atomic energy: The auditor stood and extended his hand, which Einstein accepted unenthusiastically. So into heaven Einstein went, carrying his beloved fiddle. He thought no more about the audit. He was a veteran of countless border crossings by then.
There had always been senseless questions to answer, empty promises to make, meaningless documents to sign.