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- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
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KV at his best.
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If I aimed at nothing..nothing is what I would hit
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According to Kurt Vonnegut's alter ego, the old science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, a global timequake will occur on February 13, 2001, at 2:27 p.m. It will be the moment when the universe suffers a crisis of conscience: Should it go on expanding indefinitely or collapse and make another great big BANG? For its own cosmic reasons, it decides to back up a decade to 1991, giving the world a 10-year case of deja vu, making everybody and everything do exactly what they'd done during the past decade.
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a fool and his self respect are soon parted
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5 out of 5 stars
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Classic Vonnegut
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 431
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 376
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Story4 out of 5 stars 372
Perhaps the most autobiographical (and deliberately least disciplined) of Vonnegut's novels, Slapstick (1976) is in the form of a broken family odyssey and is surely a demonstration of its eponymous title. The story centers on brother and sister twins, children of Wilbur Swain, who are in sympathetic and (possibly) telepathic communication and who represent Vonnegut's relationship with his own sister who died young of cancer almost two decades before the book's publication.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Lonely No More!
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By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Palm Sunday
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4 out of 5 stars 74
In this self-portrait by an American genius, Kurt Vonnegut writes with beguiling wit and poignant wisdom about his favorite comedians, country music, a dead friend, a dead marriage, and various cockamamie aspects of his all-too-human journey through life. This is a work that resonates with Vonnegut's singular voice: the magic sound of a born storyteller mesmerizing us with truth.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible
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By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
Kurt Vonnegut presents in Fates Worse than Death a veritable cornucopia of his thoughts on what could perhaps best be summed up as "anti-theology", a manifesto for atheism that details Vonnegut's drift from conventional religion, even a tract evidencing belief in the divine held within each individual self--the deity within each individual person present in a universe that otherwise lacks any real order.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Vonnegut is profound
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When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity. Cloning, feel-good drugs, anti-aging programs, and total social control through politics, programming, and media: has Aldous Huxley accurately predicted our future? With a storyteller's genius, he weaves these ethical controversies in a compelling narrative that dawns in the year 632 A.F. (After Ford, the deity). When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Michael York should stick to the stage and leave narration to the pros.
- By SD on 08-21-19
By: Aldous Huxley
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I, Robot
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,934
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,156
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They mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities, and unforeseen risks.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thank you
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By: Isaac Asimov
Publisher's summary
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.
Critic reviews
Featured Article: 70+ Unforgettable Kurt Vonnegut Quotes
Kurt Vonnegut had an extremely productive career, penning everything from plays to short stories to full-length nonfiction. Drawing on his experiences of war, life, and love, Vonnegut’s powerful messages were delivered so creatively—and often quite satirically—ensuring that they stood the test of time. This assortment of Kurt Vonnegut quotes is just a glimpse of the gems found throughout the works of this great author.
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- By: Charles Beaumont
- Narrated by: J. Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, Harlan Ellison, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
The profoundly original and wildly entertaining short stories of a legendary Twilight Zone writer. It is only natural that Charles Beaumont would make a name for himself crafting scripts for The Twilight Zone - for his was an imagination so limitless it must have emerged from some other dimension. Perchance to Dream contains a selection of Beaumont's finest stories, including five that he later adapted for Twilight Zone episodes.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Contents
- By Ralph Freaster on 06-22-16
By: Charles Beaumont
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The Winds of War
- By: Herman Wouk
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 45 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8,546
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7,568
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,555
Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II stands as the crowning achievement of one of America's most celebrated storytellers. Like no other books about the war, Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events - and all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II - as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Masterpiece
- By Robert on 05-24-13
By: Herman Wouk
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Cannery Row
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Jerry Farden
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,372
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,902
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,885
Published in 1945, Cannery Row focuses on the acceptance of life as it is: both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. Drawing on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, Steinbeck interweaves the stories of Doc, Henri, Mack and his boys, and the other characters in this world where only the fittest survive, to create a novel that is at once one of his most humorous and most poignant works.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Five stars with a Caveat
- By Bette on 04-23-12
By: John Steinbeck
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The Brass Cupcake: A Novel
- By: John D. MacDonald
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 118
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 101
A classic novel by John D. MacDonald with an exclusive introduction written and read by Dean Koontz. Ex-cop Cliff Bartells might be the last honest man in Florence City, Florida. After quitting the force over a crisis of conscience, he takes a job at an insurance company buying back stolen jewelry. Cliff is focused on keeping the bottom line down and staying out of the spotlight.But when an affluent tourist from Boston is murdered over a hefty collection of jewelry, Cliff finds himself wrapped up in a case that’s making national headlines.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good Social History ...
- By Montana on 05-14-17
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Strong Motion
- By: Jonathan Franzen
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 20 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 220
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 193
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 196
Louis Holland arrives in Boston in a spring of ecological upheaval (a rash of earthquakes on the North Shore) and odd luck: the first one kills his grandmother. Louis tries to maintain his independence, but falls in love with a Harvard seismologist whose discoveries about the earthquakes' cause complicate everything.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Compelling Story, Ridiculous Narrator
- By DianeReads on 02-28-16
By: Jonathan Franzen
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Bullet in the Brain
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 280
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 251
Anders is an angry, cynical man. A book critic known for his scathing reviews, he finds any excuse to dismiss, belittle, or insult. This afternoon is no more agitating than the next. Angers finds himself in a long line at the bank, waiting to reach a teller. Even after two men - wearing masks and carrying guns - take control of the building, Anders is unfazed. It's this behavior that lands him with a pistol against his stomach and a man screamingin his face. And when the bank robber, indignant over Anders' behavior, shoots the book critic in the head, his mind floats through the memories of his life, settling on one particular event....
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Perfect Example
- By Sarah on 08-01-17
By: Tobias Wolff
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Time Out of Joint
- By: Philip K. Dick
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 470
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 406
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 404
Ragle Gumm has a unique job: Every day he wins a newspaper contest. And when he isn’t consulting his charts and tables, he enjoys his life in a small town, in 1959. At least, that’s what he thinks. But then strange things start happening. He finds a phone book where all the numbers have been disconnected, and a magazine article about a famous starlet named Marilyn Monroe, whom he’s never heard of. Plus, everyday objects are beginning to disappear and are replaced by strips of paper with words written on them, like "bowl of flowers" and "soft-drink stand".
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3 out of 5 stars
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Mediocre Mother to Gravity's Rainbow and the Truman Show?
- By Darwin8u on 06-13-15
By: Philip K. Dick
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Crimes by Moonlight
- Mysteries from the Dark Side
- By: Charlaine Harris - author/editor
- Narrated by: Natalie Ross
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 99
In number-one New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris’s "Dahlia Underground,” venerable vampire Dahlia Lynley-Chivers survives an attack by an anti-vampire terrorist group, only to show them they tried to blow up the wrong bloodsucker. Bailey Ruth Raeburn, a ghost assigned to assist humans in trouble, steps into the middle of a marital dispute with surprising twists in Carolyn Hart’s “Riding High”....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Pleasantly surprised
- By Bonnie on 08-06-11
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Disturbing the Peace
- By: Richard Yates
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 57
To all appearances, John Wilder has all the trappings of success, circa 1960: a promising career in advertising, a loving family, a beautiful apartment, even a country home. John's evenings are spent with associates at quiet Manhattan lounges and his weekends with friends at glittering cocktail parties. But something deep within this seemingly perfect life has long since gone wrong.
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5 out of 5 stars
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7 hours and 27 minutes pure blisd
- By Mia on 01-05-13
By: Richard Yates
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The Eighth Commandment
- By: Lawrence Sanders
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 44
When the Damaretion, the prized Greek coin from Archibald Havistock's collection, disappears and appraiser Mary Lou "Dunk" Bateson comes under suspicion, Bateson, a cop, and an insurance investigator set out to solve the crime.
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4 out of 5 stars
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It was a nice listen
- By John on 10-01-12
By: Lawrence Sanders
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Carrying Albert Home
- The Somewhat True Story of a Woman, a Husband, and Her Alligator
- By: Homer Hickam
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 210
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 182
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 182
Elsie Lavender and Homer Hickam (the father of the author) were high school classmates in the West Virginia coalfields, graduating just as the Great Depression began. When Homer asked for her hand, Elsie instead headed to Orlando, where she sparked with a dancing actor named Buddy Ebsen (yes, that Buddy Ebsen). But when Buddy headed for New York, Elsie's dreams of a life with him were crushed, and eventually she found herself back in the coalfields, married to Homer.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely Delightful!!
- By Sharon on 03-01-16
By: Homer Hickam
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Red Plenty
- By: Francis Spufford
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 154
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
Strange as it may seem, the gray, oppressive USSR was founded on a fairy tale. It was built on the 20th-century magic called "the planned economy," which was going to gush forth an abundance of good things that the lands of capitalism could never match. And just for a little while, in the heady years of the late 1950s, the magic seemed to be working. Red Plenty is about that moment in history, and how it came, and how it went away. Red Plenty is history, it's fiction, it's as ambitious as Sputnik, and as uncompromising as an Aeroflot flight attendant.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Simple review
- By Jay J Peters on 06-24-18
By: Francis Spufford
-
Go Set a Watchman
- A Novel
- By: Harper Lee
- Narrated by: Reese Witherspoon
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 16,412
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14,928
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 14,883
An historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel, the earliest known work from Harper Lee, the beloved, best-selling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014.
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5 out of 5 stars
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To Kill A Mockingbird vs Go Set A Watchman
- By Sara on 07-15-15
By: Harper Lee
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Babbitt
- By: Sinclair Lewis
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 104
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
In this sardonic portrait of the up-and-coming middle class during the prosperous 1920s, Sinclair Lewis perfectly captures the sound, the feel, and the attitudes of the generation that created the cult of consumerism. With a sharp eye for detail and keen powers of observation, Lewis tracks successful realtor George Babbitt's daily struggles to rise to the top of his profession while maintaining his reputation as an upstanding family man.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Makes You Think
- By E. Pearson on 02-21-13
By: Sinclair Lewis
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The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course, there's a catch to the invitation....
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Eliot Rosewater, a drunk volunteer fireman and president of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation, is about to attempt a noble experiment with human nature, with a little help from writer Kilgore Trout. The result is Kurt Vonnegut's funniest satire, an etched-in-acid portrayal of the greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh we are all heir to.
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4 out of 5 stars
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By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Mother Night
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,295
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,929
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,929
American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? In this brilliant book rife with true gallows humor, Kurt Vonnegut turns black and white into a chilling shade of grey with a verdict that will haunt us all. Mother Night is a daring challenge to our moral sense.
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5 out of 5 stars
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- By Robert on 09-04-12
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Cat's Cradle
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Tony Roberts
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,122
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,375
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,373
Cat's Cradle is Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a little person as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.
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5 out of 5 stars
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KV at his best.
- By Robert on 06-22-12
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Jailbird
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 268
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 241
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 240
Walter Starbuck, a career humanist and eventual low-level aide in the Nixon White House, is implicated in Watergate and jailed, after which he (like Howard Campbell in Mother Night) works on his memoirs. Starbuck is innocent (his office was used as a base for the Watergate shenanigans of which he had no knowledge), and yet he is not innocent (he has collaborated with power unquestioningly and served societal order all his life). He represents another Vonnegut Everyman caught amongst forces he neither understands nor can defend.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
a fool and his self respect are soon parted
- By Darwin8u on 11-18-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Galapagos
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,186
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 872
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Story4 out of 5 stars 880
Galapagos takes the listener back one million years to AD 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galapagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, totally different human race. Kurt Vonnegut, America's master satirist, looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry - and all that is worth saving.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The survival of the human race is a total bore!
- By Darwin8u on 12-13-16
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The Sirens of Titan
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- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,786
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,185
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,189
The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course, there's a catch to the invitation....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely Outstanding
- By Robert on 01-07-12
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,749
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,459
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,476
Eliot Rosewater, a drunk volunteer fireman and president of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation, is about to attempt a noble experiment with human nature, with a little help from writer Kilgore Trout. The result is Kurt Vonnegut's funniest satire, an etched-in-acid portrayal of the greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh we are all heir to.
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4 out of 5 stars
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- By Darwin8u on 03-27-14
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Mother Night
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- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,295
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,929
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,929
American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? In this brilliant book rife with true gallows humor, Kurt Vonnegut turns black and white into a chilling shade of grey with a verdict that will haunt us all. Mother Night is a daring challenge to our moral sense.
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5 out of 5 stars
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- By Robert on 09-04-12
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- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,122
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,375
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,373
Cat's Cradle is Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a little person as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
KV at his best.
- By Robert on 06-22-12
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Jailbird
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 268
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 241
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 240
Walter Starbuck, a career humanist and eventual low-level aide in the Nixon White House, is implicated in Watergate and jailed, after which he (like Howard Campbell in Mother Night) works on his memoirs. Starbuck is innocent (his office was used as a base for the Watergate shenanigans of which he had no knowledge), and yet he is not innocent (he has collaborated with power unquestioningly and served societal order all his life). He represents another Vonnegut Everyman caught amongst forces he neither understands nor can defend.
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4 out of 5 stars
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a fool and his self respect are soon parted
- By Darwin8u on 11-18-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Galapagos
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,186
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 872
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Story4 out of 5 stars 880
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4 out of 5 stars
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The survival of the human race is a total bore!
- By Darwin8u on 12-13-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Deadeye Dick
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 401
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 350
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 349
Deadeye Dick is Kurt Vonnegut's funny, chillingly satirical look at the death of innocence. Amid a true Vonnegutian host of horrors - a double murder, a fatal dose of radioactivity, a decapitation, an annihilation of a city by a neutron bomb - Rudy Waltz, aka Deadeye Dick, takes us along on a zany search for absolution and happiness. Here is a tale of crime and punishment that makes us rethink what we believe...and who we say we are.
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4 out of 5 stars
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If I aimed at nothing..nothing is what I would hit
- By Darwin8u on 11-28-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
-
Bluebeard
- The Autobiography of Rabo Karabekian (1916-1988)
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 764
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 683
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 679
Meet Rabo Karabekian, a moderately successful surrealist painter who we meet late in life and see struggling (like all of Vonnegut's key characters) with the dregs of unresolved pain and the consequences of brutality. Loosely based on the legend of Bluebeard (best realized in Bela Bartok's one-act opera), the novel follows Karabekian through the last events in his life that is heavy with women, painting, artistic ambition, artistic fraudulence, and as of yet unknown consequence.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Kurt Vonnegut explores the arts
- By Darwin8u on 12-28-17
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Welcome to the Monkey House
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: David Strathairn, Maria Tucci, Bill Irwin, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,010
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 705
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 704
Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut's shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, what these superb stories share is Vonnegut's audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Classic Vonnegut
- By Michael Carrato on 08-17-06
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Slapstick
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 431
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 376
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 372
Perhaps the most autobiographical (and deliberately least disciplined) of Vonnegut's novels, Slapstick (1976) is in the form of a broken family odyssey and is surely a demonstration of its eponymous title. The story centers on brother and sister twins, children of Wilbur Swain, who are in sympathetic and (possibly) telepathic communication and who represent Vonnegut's relationship with his own sister who died young of cancer almost two decades before the book's publication.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Lonely No More!
- By Darwin8u on 11-16-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Timequake
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Arthur Bishop
- Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 371
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 325
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 324
According to Kurt Vonnegut's alter ego, the old science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, a global timequake will occur on February 13, 2001, at 2:27 p.m. It will be the moment when the universe suffers a crisis of conscience: Should it go on expanding indefinitely or collapse and make another great big BANG? For its own cosmic reasons, it decides to back up a decade to 1991, giving the world a 10-year case of deja vu, making everybody and everything do exactly what they'd done during the past decade.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Arias only make hopeless situations worse
- By Darwin8u on 12-28-17
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Breakfast of Champions
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: John Malkovich
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,227
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,823
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,814
Breakfast of Champions (1973) provides frantic, scattershot satire and a collage of Vonnegut's obsessions. His recurring cast of characters and American landscape was perhaps the most controversial of his canon; it was felt by many at the time to be a disappointing successor to Slaughterhouse-Five, which had made Vonnegut's literary reputation.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Kurt Was Right to Grade This a C
- By Dubi on 01-10-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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A Man Without a Country
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 2 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 611
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 315
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 310
One of the greatest minds in American writing, Kurt Vonnegut shares his often hilarious and always insightful reflections on America, art, politics and life in general. No matter the subject, Vonnegut will have you considering perspectives you may never have regarded. On the creative process: "If you want to really hurt your parents...the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding."
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good but uneven collection of essays
- By J. S. Koehler on 01-28-06
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Hocus Pocus
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 454
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 399
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 400
Eugene Debs Hartke describes an odyssey from college professor to prison inmate to prison warden back again to prisoner in another of Vonnegut's bitter satirical explorations of how and where (and why) the American dream begins to die. Employing his characteristic narrative device - a retrospective diary in which the protagonist retraces his life at its end, a desperate and disconnected series of events here in Hocus Pocus show Vonnegut with his mask off and his rhetorical devices unshielded.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Vonnegut Imitating Vonnegut
- By Joe Kraus on 08-06-18
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Slaughterhouse-Five
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: James Franco
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18,556
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,594
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,569
Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralfamadorians, who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).
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4 out of 5 stars
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Don't Quit Your Daytime Job, James
- By Keith on 11-20-15
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Palm Sunday
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 74
In this self-portrait by an American genius, Kurt Vonnegut writes with beguiling wit and poignant wisdom about his favorite comedians, country music, a dead friend, a dead marriage, and various cockamamie aspects of his all-too-human journey through life. This is a work that resonates with Vonnegut's singular voice: the magic sound of a born storyteller mesmerizing us with truth.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible
- By Anonymous User on 11-17-20
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
With cutting wit, fierce conviction, and surprising empathy, Vonnegut explores a diverse range of topics including society, politics, sex, literature, and mortality. Fans who believe they've read all of Vonnegut's work will be delighted to find the author speaking frankly about timely and relevant new topics - with an amusing yet insightful style that's instantly recognizable.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Vonnegut At His Best
- By Peter W. Kalnin on 12-09-23
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Armageddon in Retrospect
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Rip Torn
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 74
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
The New York Times best seller from the author of Slaughterhouse-Five—a “gripping” posthumous collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s previously unpublished work on the subject of war and peace. A fitting tribute to a literary legend and a profoundly humane humorist, Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of 12 previously unpublished writings. Imbued with Vonnegut's trademark rueful humor and outraged moral sense.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Vonnegut should get the nobel peace prize
- By CHARLES on 05-07-12
By: Kurt Vonnegut
What listeners say about Player Piano
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- James
- 12-12-08
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.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- linda kraatz
- 02-15-24
Vonnegets writing
Excellent voices, the different voice of recording different characters Was really enjoyable to listen I’ll listen to more of his books!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daniel N. Peters
- 03-22-19
Great story, and supreme performance
I have always been a fan of Vonnegut. This did not disappoint. A must own.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- picketfence14
- 10-17-16
More relevant than ever
A witty look into the modern era. A comical analysis of the machinery that run humans and their societies.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Paul Bernhard
- 03-17-17
Timeless themes and perfect ironies
Oversized brains that overtechnologize life will always win; the innocent victim is our own humanity.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alfred Sanchez
- 01-17-24
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mary
- 08-04-18
the very BEST AUTHOR OF the 1900's
if you haven't read Vonnegut, you have missed out on valuable wit and human pespective.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- cynthia
- 11-27-16
The usual excellence
Crafting sentences, paragraphs , and chapters was not accidental. Vonnegut worked diligently to achieve that simple style. It made him my favorite at a young age and he remains so now.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Gerald T. Davis
- 07-16-20
Outstanding narration
The book was exactly what I expected by Vonnegut, thought provoking and strangely relevant to 2020. Christian Rummel was outstanding. His reading was masterful, perfect pace and character rendition. I will be searching for his narrations as well as authors of interest.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Angela Tripp
- 07-05-15
Proto-Vonnegut
Where does Player Piano rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Vonnegut will always rank highly regardless of the medium.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The disillusioned kid who Paul meets at the Meadows...or the Shah.
Have you listened to any of Christian Rummel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Not that I know of. Chris did well. I was able to follow along easily, and his pace and inflection was not jarring or distracting.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Humans: Please replace us.
Any additional comments?
READ ALL THE VONNEGUT!
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