The Sirens of Titans - Kurt Vonnegut
By way of a so called "chrono-synclastic infundibulum" wave phenomena, millionaire Winston Niles Rumford travels through space as an energy all across the universe, mainly through so called "materialization" a process where he appears with his dog Kazak for an hour every 59 days on Earth, at his residence at Newport, Rhode Island to be exact. When he entered the infundibulum, Rumfoord became aware of the past and future. Throughout the novel, he predicts future events that always come true.
During these materialization he engages the novel's main protagonist, Malachi Constant, a happy go-lucky playboy and the richest man in 22nd century America of a future prediction that will take him to Mars, Mercury and an obscure Saturn moon called "Titan". Sire a child named "Chrono" with Rumford's estranged wife Beatrice.
Both Beatrice and Malachi did in their very best to avoid fulfilling the said predictions. But little did they know a conspiracy that ranges far to Martian armies, mysterious disappearances and mind control is being conducted upon and to what purpose?
But as Vonnegut's central theme of the meaning of life. Or rather, the meaninglessness of life, future events conspires that things happens for a reason.
Readers then were taken to a colony in Mars where Armies recruited on Earth work together in preparation for an impending invasion of Earth. One man who goes by the name "Unk" is among them. With no knowledge of the past, Unk was given a clue by a man in the gallows on the verge of being executed about a secret location of a letter that may very well be the answer to Unk's real identity.
And the rest of the plot which i don't have to divulge is a great storyline that purely entertains readers with a classic science fiction tale from bright lit yellow colored "harmoniums" of Mercury, to a distant planet called Trafalmadore, coded message represented by the Stonehenge, the Great Wall of China and even the Kremlin House. Put in a dose of religious theme as Winston Rumsford organize a religion on Earth called "the Church of God the Utterly Different".
****
Vonnegut's detailed storytelling is more than realistic to transport us through space and time among the vastness of the universe. He makes the ridiculous more hilariously entertaining. He has written a most detailed renderings of the nature of the human being and complete with snapshots and annotations about our history. As well as writing some passing shot to the antidote to all of our foolishness.
Eventually, Malachi Constant does find out what's important in this life and even love with Beatrice, Chrono their only son eventually finds out more about life as evident when he said towards the end "Thank you Mother and Father, for the gift of life, Goodbye"
And, then, so do we. How much of life is determined by luck or by fate? How much does God and man conspires with each other in creating human events? Kurt Vonnegut may not give us all of the answers, but his observations are satisfyingly enough.
During these materialization he engages the novel's main protagonist, Malachi Constant, a happy go-lucky playboy and the richest man in 22nd century America of a future prediction that will take him to Mars, Mercury and an obscure Saturn moon called "Titan". Sire a child named "Chrono" with Rumford's estranged wife Beatrice.
Both Beatrice and Malachi did in their very best to avoid fulfilling the said predictions. But little did they know a conspiracy that ranges far to Martian armies, mysterious disappearances and mind control is being conducted upon and to what purpose?
But as Vonnegut's central theme of the meaning of life. Or rather, the meaninglessness of life, future events conspires that things happens for a reason.
Readers then were taken to a colony in Mars where Armies recruited on Earth work together in preparation for an impending invasion of Earth. One man who goes by the name "Unk" is among them. With no knowledge of the past, Unk was given a clue by a man in the gallows on the verge of being executed about a secret location of a letter that may very well be the answer to Unk's real identity.
And the rest of the plot which i don't have to divulge is a great storyline that purely entertains readers with a classic science fiction tale from bright lit yellow colored "harmoniums" of Mercury, to a distant planet called Trafalmadore, coded message represented by the Stonehenge, the Great Wall of China and even the Kremlin House. Put in a dose of religious theme as Winston Rumsford organize a religion on Earth called "the Church of God the Utterly Different".
****
Vonnegut's detailed storytelling is more than realistic to transport us through space and time among the vastness of the universe. He makes the ridiculous more hilariously entertaining. He has written a most detailed renderings of the nature of the human being and complete with snapshots and annotations about our history. As well as writing some passing shot to the antidote to all of our foolishness.
Eventually, Malachi Constant does find out what's important in this life and even love with Beatrice, Chrono their only son eventually finds out more about life as evident when he said towards the end "Thank you Mother and Father, for the gift of life, Goodbye"
And, then, so do we. How much of life is determined by luck or by fate? How much does God and man conspires with each other in creating human events? Kurt Vonnegut may not give us all of the answers, but his observations are satisfyingly enough.
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