Book Review | The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

4/5 - The Sirens of Titan is a book about a man who has everything - until an all-knowing entity told him his future. Kurt creates a story which punishes it's protagonist in horrific ways; not only taking everything he owned from him but also, metaphorically or otherwise, his soul. We follow a character who has nothing, who is nothing, and we deeply hope that he will get better. The protagonist is being played with by a superior being who in turn, as we find out, was being played with themselves. Kurt addresses the complex topic of religion in a mature manner while also making fun of it's seriousness along the way. The whole book has a playful tone which, surprisingly, meshes really well with the horrific events of the story. I was tempted to mark this book a lower score due to it playing a bit too much at times for my personal liking, however I found the ending and reveal so heartwarming and heartbraking that it makes sitting through the less interesting babble absolutely worthwhile.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:43 - Plot
06:08 - Why you should read this book
11:02 - SPOILERS BEGIN
11:29 - Favourite chapter
15:33 - Comedy
16:45 - Martian invasion
17:17 - Salo
20:03 - Tralfamadore
23:16 - Importance of purpose
25:53 - Rumfoord's religion
27:26 - A living God
28:25 - Universal Will To Become
29:15 - Complexities of seeing into the future
32:08 - Free will
33:49 - The Sirens
37:09 - Outro