The Sirens of Titan

By: Kurt Vonnegut

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. 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 and a prophetic vision about the purpose of human life that only Vonnegut has the courage to tell.

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.

©1959 Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Vonnegut is George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer . . . a zany but moral mad scientist.” ( Time)

“His best book . . . He dares not only ask the ultimate question about the meaning of life, but to answer it.” ( Esquire)

“Reading Vonnegut is addictive!” ( Commonweal)

Wow!

I haven't even finished listening and this title already is getting five stars across the board for me.

To be fair, Sirens of Titan is my favorite Kurt Vonnegut book - quite possibly my favorite science fiction book ever. But Jon Snyder preforms it in exactly the way it's meant to be read; if Mr. Vonnegut could hear it, I have no doubt he'd be throughly pleased. Absolutely fantastic performance. Perhaps the best audio book performance I've yet to hear.

Do yourself a favor and treat yourself. You shan't be disappointed.

Enjoyed

I would have never gotten through this book without the narrator. Enjoyed it while driving.

A lot to unpack

I'm not sure I would agree with Vonnegut politically, and I'm left wondering if he realized the different ways this story could be interpreted. At face value, the book is long, sometimes slow, but also worthy of pause and reflection on what Vonnegut just said without saying. This was a reading assignment in high school, and I didn't get nearly as much out of it then as I did four decades later. I caught a few minutes of the movie adaptation on TCM one night, and other than character names, very little resembled the book. I don't know if this is one of Vonnegut's best or worst, but for some reason that I can't narrow down, I really liked it. Maybe he felt that even if there is no point to anything, the illusion of sense of purpose is point enough.

Creative

Witty space adventure focused on humanity’s search for meaning of life. When all of did and done it could be as simple as love thy neighbor

Somebody Up There Likes Me ...

Where does The Sirens of Titan rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I think the quality for most of the Audible Books I listened to are very high. I would rate this behind Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5 in the Vonnegut series. Those 2 were spectacular (Tony Roberts and Ethan Hawke). This was great, but the competition is pretty tough. Vonnegut himself rated this an A while the other two were an A+, I tend to agree.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Harmoniums. Not only were they intriguing in the plot line but served as Vonnegut's touchstone for how societies can work together, while at the same time are used like the rest of us. Brillant.

Have you listened to any of Dennis Boutsikaris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but he was great. Terrific job, and he did several voices from time to time that added to the overall production value. No complaints and I would gladly listen to him again.

If you could take any character from The Sirens of Titan out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Rumsford...I mean his character is a classic in the Vonnegut cannon. A bon vivant with style who changes the course of the universe. Not only is he memorable but he delivered the overall philosophy in in the book in a way that is clever and subtle.

Any additional comments?

The Vonnegut series is fantastic. I would put this at the top but not the very top. But a must read for any Vonnegut fan, classic stuff from a writer who has yet to be replaced in literature. Fantastic stuff and well done by Audible.

The reader is a highlight

The narrator is better known as Dan Green, the voice of "Yu-Gi-Oh", and he has a range of voices that do a good job of differentiating the characters.

The story starts out as a somewhat low key sort of science fiction but takes an abrupt turn into Crazy Town in the second act and the third act has a bigger twist about the underlying motivations of the plot. And it ends on a downer.

I like the underlying philosophy, but there are parts that will be a little slow and a little too out there for many people. It is a good story but hard to reccomend.

good story - badly extended ending

Where does The Sirens of Titan rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Above average for most sci-fi. Vonnegut is a wordsmith, but can be hard to follow if your attention is distracted. He drills down in interesting ways beneath the surface of his story. He is not ashamed to take creative license, making this unique among sci-fi books. His creative efforts succeed and leave an impression.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

It could have been wrapped-up earlier. The end was taking too long, and the author was predictably pulling heart strings. It was dragged-out uncomfortably. It was irritating. I was begging for this novel to end - near the end. But it just wouldn't. Also -- typical in American literature and mainstream art, African Americans and Women don't fare well. Woman thankful for being raped. Black disposed of as a mere background character. Unfortunately, the usual fare in these departments. I would have told him to rewrite these sections if I were his editor.

What does Jay Snyder bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He reads very consistently. More consistent than the plot of the book. He did an excellent job with this. No complaints.

Who was the most memorable character of The Sirens of Titan and why?

The main character was not the most memorable. Kind of bland. None of the humans were very likable. The character development was not very good -- weak. I couldn't empathize. The story and creative approach is what you would read this for, not the characters.

Any additional comments?

This is kind of an asymmetric work. Weak characters. Strong story reinforced by creative literary concepts and exploration. The author can explore layers of topics naturally, which many sci-fi writers cannot. I can't help feeling this was a one-off, almost an experiment, but it worked artistically.

I don't really know how to describe this book.

You think the message is going to be disclosed through out the book but it does not. After sometime I found myself asking "why is it titled The Sirens of Titan?" it is a really good book shocked it was written in the late 1950s I can't really say much it's like I don't have the words other than that it's a must read.

I just couldn't get into it.

This story may go someplace very interesting, but after about 10 chapters, I just couldn't get into it. Part of the problem was that the narrative is given in such a staccato fashion, and the narrator reflects that measured cadence with his speech. This really cut into the flow for me. Some of Vonnegut's prose is extremely well-written, but the bulk of it stood between me and what he was trying to say. Aside from that, large sections of the book have nothing happening.

excellent clever ridiculous thought-provoking

Definitely my favorite of the 3 Kurt V. books I've read so far. Incredibly thought-provoking and entertaining. Silly but DEEP. I'l be thinking if this book for a long time. Radios in my brain playing the marching drum need to be turned off.