Compare Bluebeard

Broad humor and bitter irony collide in this fictional autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, who, at age seventy-one, wants to be left alone on his Long Island estate with the secret he has locked inside his potato barn. But then a voluptuous young widow badgers Rabo into telling his life story—and Vonnegut in turn tells us the plain, heart-hammering truth about man’s careless fancy to create or destroy what he loves. “Vonnegut is at his edifying best.” “The quicksilver mind of Vonnegut is at it again. . . . He displays all his talents—satire, irony, ridicule, slapstick, and even a shaggy dog story of epic proportions.” “[Kurt Vonnegut is] a voice you can trust to keep poking holes in the social fabric.” “It has the qualities of classic Bosch and Vonnegut. . . . is uncommonly feisty.” “Is Bluebeard good? Yes! . . . This is vintage Vonnegut—good wine from his best grapes.” “A joyride . . . Vonnegut is more fascinated and puzzled than angered by the human stupidities and contradictions he discerns so keenly. So hop in his rumble seat. As you whiz along, what you observe may provide some new perspectives.”