The Sirens of Titan: A Novel

I did not read Vonnegut's novels in my youth - my taste was for Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov and others. For whatever reason, books such as this one simply did not capture my interest.Reading The Sirens of Titan now, as an adult, was the result of a desire to see what I'd missed, and I enjoyed this story. In fact, I wondered why I had not given Vonnegut a try much earlier.This is a very unusual book, enjoyable and with some very clever and surprising twists and turns. Very much different from at least one other science-fiction novel that was its contemporary - Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers - and the difference between the two is probably an indication of my own tastes at the time and why Vonnegut did not appeal to me (then).Today, I enjoy discovering these gems from my youth, and I'll continue to explore more from Vonnegut. On to  Slaughterhouse-Five !!

I read "The Sirens of Titan" at least forty years ago, and I'd forgotten most of it. It wasn't until I got to nearly the end, when Vonnegut's space-wandering "victim of a series of accidents" Malachi Constant is kicking around Saturn's largest moon "wearing an old blue wool bathrobe," that it hit me: this was Douglas Adams' inspiration for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!" I Googled "Sirens of Titan" and "Hitchhiker's Guide," and sure enough, I found the following quote by Adams:"Sirens of Titan is just one of those books – you read it through the first time and you think it's very loosely, casually written. You think the fact that everything suddenly makes such good sense at the end is almost accidental. And then you read it a few more times, simultaneously finding out more about writing yourself, and you realize what an absolute tour de force it was, making something as beautifully honed as that appear so casual."If you're a fan of Adams or of Vonnegut, or even if you've never heard of either of them, you should enjoy this book. As Adams said, it's "an absolute tour de force."

All of Kurt Vonnegut's books have the uncanny ability to make you take a hard look at deep concepts about humanity, the purpose of life, and what does and doesn't make us special while telling an elaborate and engrossing story about aliens, monsters disguised as humans, and space travel. This book does exactly the same and yet somehow more. It left me absolutely stunned about its absurdity and truth. There is really no point in trying to tell you what the story is about so you can judge whether or not you think you'll like it. I'd say just dive head long into it and extract what you can. Maybe you'll be left feeling speechless like me, maybe you'll hate it. You'll get out of it what you give.

I gave this product 1 star because they link the soft cover in English to the hard cover in Chinese. This makes no sense.

Somewhere, somewhen, somebody up there likes you. Such is the message of Kurt Vonnegut's fantastic, early novel, The Sirens of Titan. I first read this beautiful literary achievement when I was a mere prat of 13. It sat in my then off to college, older brother's bookshelf. It was the cover of the Dell (if I recall correctly) paperback, showing a stylized reproduction of (Titian's?) "VENUS On A Half-Shell." I was just beginning puberty and had no idea of what sexual arousal was, but I knew how to resolve it by myself. I was hoping to read something about the woman on the cover.There wasn't a word about her in the text, but, looking back, I was off on one of the most influential adventures of my life. Some would say this novel is cynical; I disagree. At the time of that first read, I didn't think I'd understood much of it, but I took some really spiffy words to school. "Chrono-synclastic infundibulum," "Tralfamador," to name two. I believed they made me seem mysterious and (in the vernacular of northeastern Massachusetts) "wicked smart".As it turned out,as if by osmosis, I absorbed much of the underlying existential philosophy, the satirical attitude, the humor and the HOPE. Thus began my love affair with Vonnegut, adult sci-do and words. Read it, read it again and experience true American genius. The only question for me now is, how many descendants does Mark Twain have?

I can’t fully express my admiration for this book. It is hard for me to think of another book that makes me laugh and cry. Vonnegut leads us on an incredibly surreal and funny journey of Malachi Constant, and shows us incredible insights on adversity, luck, success, failure, religion, love, regret, purpose of life, happiness through adversity, … It is simply an amazing book, full of quotable lines, intelligent observations, and an incredible plot which I refuse to spoil. However, much of this story is built around a framework that could be described as science fiction, which is probably why it took me decades to ever read this book.I’m convinced that it was the frustration of people classifying this book which clearly should be literature as sci-fi that pushed Vonnegut to created Kilgore Trout and avoid these motifs in the future. The fantastic elements of the book (which are in no way scientific, they merely serve to drive the narrative like the prophecy in MacBeth or the ghost in Hamlet do not make them less dramatic and more fantastic. They are dramas with some fantastic elements in them. Likewise The Sirens of Titan is at times a comedy, and times a drama; but never let the fantastic elements of the story make you lump it with the sci-fi and fantasy stuff out there.If you liked any of Vonnegut’s other works you are bound to love this one. I daresay that along with Cat’s Craddle it might be one of the best first books of Vonnegut for someone unfamiliar with his work to read.

I must confess up front that this is my favourite book & so was always going to receive 5 stars. I first read 'The Sirens of Titan' when I was sixteen (in 1976) & it has remained as my first choice ever since. I have read other Vonnegut books but this is the clear front runner for me. A science fiction book that reads like a fairy story, it concerns the roller-coaster life of one Malachi Constant, born the richest man on Earth. Through his adventures we learn the 'true' history of mankind both past and near future. This book is rare in that it is word perfect - not one sentence has been added as padding, every character, every verbal exchange, every description adds to the story. It has the barbs of irony that Vonnegut is famouse for but is counterpoised by moments of immense beauty. Plenty happens in this book & it has so much drama that by the end you feel you've been on a long journey. I still feel strong emotions when I read this book & I'm happy that this audio version is now available. The narrator does a good job (of course it can't match the voices I've had for it in my head for several decades) & this makes a big difference.

Yes - read the x 1 * reviews and believe them before wasting your time and money on this mince dear readers.The characters belong to one of two clear categories here: arrogant and thoroughly dislikeable or naive and soppy.The story is as described on the jacket blurb, but it's a pointless journey to an unsurprising end.I don't recall reading any of Vonnegut's other books and despite other single star reviewers' recommendations, I'll be leaving it - if he's capable of writing tosh like this once he'll do it again and life's too short to waste on his ramblings . The book's one saving grace is that it's quite short too.

I've read a few Vonnegut books and considering he's a well known author, I'm surprised more people don't talk about this one. It's an absolute gem and I've never read anything like it - it's usually pegged as sci-fi/ fantasy, but there's as much comedy in it as anything else.Wikipedia describes this novel as dealing with free will, omniscience & human history - and whilst that's all in there, I'd say the book is basically a satire on hubris - both in terms of individuals but also regarding the summit of human achievemets.Personally, I thnk this is Vonnegut's best book by a long way - you won't be disappointed by this.

I discovered Kurt Vonnegut as a schoolboy when I stumbled upon Cats Cradle. That book confirmed my love of science fiction. However, somehow I managed to skip Sirens of Titan until a few weeks ago.This is an amazing book. The English language is remarkable for its redundancy but I am not sure that there is a redundant sentence or word in Sirens of Titan. Despite this the book is a pleasure to read. It is not a conventional story. The world that Constant, whose story this is, inhabits is not a conventional world but it feels familiar at first. Then Vonnegut drops the reader into the fantasy world of Mars. You could stumble and fall by the wayside at this point but Unk's story soon grips you.I describe this book as a master class because I found myself reading it in wonder. Where did the ideas come from? How can text flow so smoothly? Why should this seeming nonsense be such a gripping read?I see themes that I have encountered elsewhere in this book. As noted in the blurb I can see that Douglas Adams could have been inspired by this book. But do I pick up something of of Orwell's 1984 and Gillian's Brazil? I am not sure. What I am certain of is that I wish I had read Sirens of Titan years ago.

A bona fide classic which I have loved for years. Vonnegut's own experiences during World War 2, like JG Ballards,, shaped his view of humanity posturing, misbehaving, suffering and still somehow doing their best under the influences of vast forces they cannot control or understand. Satirical, pessimistic, imaginative and compassionate, this is one that you really need to have!

This is my second time of reading - the first time was many decades ago when I absolutely loved it and loved Vonnegut's humour in confronting the absence of meaning for humans in an indifferent universe. I still love it, the writing is fresh and inventive and could have been written yesterday. This time, being a bit older and wiser, I have been more affected in a negative way, at times feeling despair at the parodied actions and beliefs of humankind. Nevertheless, I still found the book very funny, very clever and totally engaging.

Never been big in SF stories before this, was gifted it by my partner an was thoroughly impressed. I've since bought this book as a gift on no less than 6 occasions and everyone so far has said they've enjoyed it. Fantastically written, deep narratrive driven story with some excellent character development and (as I later found out a plethora of references to the author's other works. Great story, well worth a read.

I would describe this book as the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy written in the style of Slaughterhouse 5. Of course this book came before HHGTTG but it is the order that I read these books in.The reason why it reminds me of HHGTTG is that the book really does reflect on how small the human race and the planet Earth is in the wider scheme of things and the absurdity of life in general as we get knocked about by forces beyond our control. Less obvious comedy than HHGTTG but that leaves the messages on subjects such as religion to come through more clearly.

Kurt Vonnegut is one of the original science fiction writers I read years ago before the genre exploded and fantasy etc came along and sometimes mixed in with it, so when you had to be a good writer to be published. The fact that it was offered as a daily deal book at 99p prompted me to buy it and read it again. It is "old fashioned" science fiction but not just science fiction. His writing depicts human nature, and the way we tend to behave, to ourselves and others, not necessarily in a flattering fashion. or a cheerful way. This particular book also contains a somewhat pointed, satiric view of God and religion along the way. I will now probably re-read some of his other works.

Read this again after having first read it 30 or more years ago. It's still brilliant. Imaginative, funny and tragic. As they say, 'I laughed. I cried. It became a part of me.'The book has a plot that some might find loony. And it is, but in a good way. The characters are so richly and fully realized that the crazy plot just works.

This is classic, early Kurt Vonnegut and, in it`s way, an important example of his work. The book is not an easy read but does contain humour and lighter moments. Do not expect to read of galactic empires, robots and laser cannon - this is nothing like a `space opera`. It is probably well up in the list of best-ever science fiction works and is highly regarded by many. At it`s current low price I consider `The Sirens of Titan` an essential read but it is not - in my opinion - amongst Vonnegut`s best work.

My first ever Kurt Vonnegut book and tbh I'm still not sure what I feel about it. Well written and conceptually interesting but I didn't connect with it as I have with other authors. I'd try again for the story and concepts but doubt that this will make any list of favourites for me.

Everything you expect from Kurt Vonnegut. Wonderful prose, zany full bodied characters, outrageous side stories running through the main theme. When I was younger I used to wonder where he got his ideas to produce such intriguing work. This was one I had missed in my younger years, so Glad I came back to him. I would happily read others as he is just as fresh now as he was all those years ago. What more can I say about him, Lots really, Not an author to be missed. More stars should be available for our Kurt

I'm not a huge SciFi fan, but Vonnegut is the one true God, so this is wonderful. His 2nd novel, Written 1959, when he was still a jobbing writer, huge breadth and scope to this book. If you don't know and love Vonnegut, What is wrong with you?

No I have not finished the book it was in a great condition and I would recommend the book to somebody else.