Player Piano

By: Kurt Vonnegut

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

Kurt Vonnegut's first novel spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run completely by machines. Paul's rebellion is vintage Vonnegut – wildly funny, deadly serious, and terrifyingly close to reality.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of Kurt Vonnegut's book, you'll also receive an exclusive Jim Atlas interview. This interview – where James Atlas interviews Gay Talese about the life and work of Kurt Vonnegut – begins as soon as the audiobook ends.

This production is part of our Audible Modern Vanguard line, a collection of important works from groundbreaking authors.©1980 Kurt Vonnegut (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Mr. Vonnegut is a sharp-eyed satirist." ( The New York Times)

"One of the best living American writers." (Graham Greene)

Not Vonnegut's best effort.

I read this a long time ago and bought the A-B. There are some interesting insights in this book that have some application in todays "outsourced" economy. Funy in parts tiresome in others, the ending seems J-V was trying to meet a deadline.

Vonnegets writing

Excellent voices, the different voice of recording different characters Was really enjoyable to listen I’ll listen to more of his books!

A Fine Start

I am embarking on a chronological read of Vonnegut and, perhaps as should be expected, Player Piano feels like a first novel. It did occur to me during this reading, however, how timely the characters from a book published in 1952 were. I could easily envision the social media accounts that they would each run.

Player Orchestra!

Rereading this early Vonnegut novel today is at once a joy and a terror. It’s amazing to see how prescient the author was writing this book 72 years ago! First time I read it in 1979, I was interested, but felt like it was science fiction. Today, it’s apparent that, rather than slowing our progress toward artificial intelligence, we humans have sprinted towards it. And perhaps it’s reality not fiction at all that we humans are destined to be nothing but “ghosts” in the machine.

The story, of course, is fantastic. But what really stands out about this Audible book is Christian Rummel’s virtuoso performance. The sheer volume of characters he is able to give individual voices to is just mind-boggling! It’s one thing to have such a deep repertoire of different accents, inflections, etc. It’s quite another to be able to switch flawlessly from one to the others in rapid succession narrating the dialogue. This wasn’t a piano solo; it was an orchestra! Bravo, Mr. Christian.

Do yourself a favor and listen to his performance.

Great story, and supreme performance

I have always been a fan of Vonnegut. This did not disappoint. A must own.

More relevant than ever

A witty look into the modern era. A comical analysis of the machinery that run humans and their societies.

Timeless themes and perfect ironies

Oversized brains that overtechnologize life will always win; the innocent victim is our own humanity.

Amazing Story

It still fits today. What a writer. The story afterward filled me in about things I’d never have known. I’ve read a lot of Vonnegut. This one had escaped my notice. January 6, 2021, was my 78th birthday. Hearing it mentioned almost daily does not please me. The uprising feels the same. He was ahead of his time.

Extremely prescient

Considering it was written nearly 70 years ago, Vonnegut is practically prophetic in his account of the “common man’s” struggle to maintain meaning.

Cynical, satirical, and a little bit lyrical.

The diversity of character personalities was refreshing, though my favorite character didn't change as much as I had anticipated. Great critique of how science can enhance or drain the human condition.