Mother Night

Rating:
Summary: A Minor Classic
Review: I haven't read all of Vonnegut's books, but of the ones I know this is easily his best. This peculiar little book sharply diagnoses the peculiar moral dilemma of the spy in much the same way that Le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy would some fifteen years later. Interestingly, the book is also quite funny -- Vonnegut hits his bleak absurdist tone dead-on here. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A very important book
Review: This deserves to be a modern classic, right up there with Slaughterhouse Five, The Naked and the Dead, Catch-22 and 1984. It is a disturbing and relentlessly insightful book about the human condition. A man agrees to act as a Nazi propagandist during WWII in order to be able to transmit coded messages to the Allies. But when we look beyond the good intentions, there is still the question of which side he aids most - the side he proclaims to profess to, or the side he secretly tries to aid? As mr Vonnegut writes himself in the introduction: "We are what we pretend to be, and therefore we must be very carful of what we pretend to be." Read it - don't see the film.

Rating:
Summary: the best vonnegut you might not know
Review: absolutely fantastic in every way, plot, moral questions, etc. most notable is the emotion of chapter 40, when howard campbell stops for 3 hours because he has nowhere to go. when i met vonnegut, i had him sign that chapter. i also borrowed his lighter :)

Rating:
Summary: Simply one of the best books I've ever read.
Review: This book was awesome (not in the slang sense). The concept of one of America's being Germany's top Nazi stimulated my mind. The book tickled my imagination and made me realize just how happy I am to be me.

Rating:
Summary: Mother Night - perspectives galore
Review: The beginning of this book sets a standard that is hard to keep throughout, but Kurt does it. The varying views of Auschwitz and the war, and the personal view of this one person makes people look at World War II in a very different way. Even the prologue astounded us with painful fact. It shows that even the most atrocious men, still suffer a tragedy. With extremely powerful quotes throughout, this is definitely a good read.

Rating:
Summary: A different perspective.
Review: This book is particularly unique. I finished it and reread the introduction and then it became clear to me why this was unlike any Vonnegut book that I had ever read. It's subtitled "The Confessions of Howard W. Campbell Jr." And though Vonnegut often writes in the first person, he seems to have totally adopted the morals and opinions of his protagonist convincing the reader that he is merely the editor. I was actually convinced that his character was a real person to the extent that I attempted to research any existing records pertaining to him. This is a great love story and war epic that deserves to be ranked with the greatest works of Ameican fiction.

Rating:
Summary: MOTHER NIGHT, the ultimate in life's paradox set in WWII
Review: "Mother Night" is one of those books that is hard to put down. The main character and his life as a playwrite is excellently done by Vonnegut, with his usual twists, turns, and sudden revelations. This book is a must to read!

Rating:
Summary: There is an enormous moral irony within this black humor.
Review: Howard Campbell's "contributions" to World War II are put under a moral microscope that is unable to yield a verdict of good or bad. With a set of characters that epitomizes the term "black humor," Kurt Vonnegut examines the motives of the U.S. and German governments as well as the limits of the human conscience. Vonnegut creates darkly humorous characters, such as the Black Fuhrer, to surround Campbell in his struggle to reconcile his past and the consequences of his actions. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has been interested in the moral complications of the World War II ideologies of the western world. It is fascinating and disturbing and will make any reader study his/her own conscience.

Rating:
Summary: Mother Night too sweet!!!!!!
Review: What can I say about this book? I loved it! Hell, I wish I wrote it!!

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: I have only read about 4 other Vonnegut books and this one is hands down my favorite. Vonnegut has given us one of his most interseting characters and most thought provoking plot. I read this book once but I remember it like I've read it three or four times. If you have never read any Vonnegut, this is a good place to start