Galapagos
By Kurt Vonnegut
- Release Date: 1986-09-01
- Genre: Literary Fiction
Description
“A madcap genealogical adventure . . . Vonnegut is a postmodern Mark Twain.”—The New York Times Book Review
Galápagos takes the reader back one million years, to A.D. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galápagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, and totally different human race. In this inimitable novel, America’ s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry–and all that is worth saving.
Praise for Galápagos
“The best Vonnegut novel yet!”—John Irving
“Beautiful . . . provocative, arresting reading.”—USA Today
“A satire in the classic tradition . . . a dark vision, a heartfelt warning.”—The Detroit Free Press
“Interesting, engaging, sad and yet very funny . . . Vonnegut is still in top form. If he has no prescription for alleviating the pain of the human condition, at least he is a first-rate diagnostician.”—Susan Isaacs, Newsday
“Dark . . . original and funny.”—People
“A triumph of style, originality and warped yet consistent logic . . . a condensation, an evolution of Vonnegut’s entire career, including all the issues and questions he has pursued relentlessly for four decades.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Wild details, wry humor, outrageous characters . . . Galápagos is a comic lament, a sadly ironic vison.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“A work of high comedy, sadness and imagination.”—The Denver Post
“Wacky wit and irreverent imagination . . . and the full range of technical innovations have made [Vonnegut] America’s preeminent experimental novelist.”—The Minneapolis Star and Tribune
Reviews
Captivating, original, hilarious…no surprise
5By Drowell222I truly loved this book, although I have yet to read a Vonnegut that I haven’t enjoyed. It was just the right amount of existential, melodramatic, and purely outrageous that made for a compelling read.Wow, just Wow!
5By OlyDLG2I haven't read "Cat's Cradle," one of my "top five," in a while, so this may be "recency bias," but I think this is superior to even that; it's certainly superior, IMO, to "Sirens of Titan," which I have read more recently, and which had been advertised to me as superior (which opinion I did not share). I can think of no more currently-salient "fiction" than "Galapagos"...and it was written about two score years ago! Wow, just, Wow!What a treatl
4By Larana31its been awhile since I've read Kurt Vonneguts Galápagos. What a treat! His savage lyric and uncompromising human cynicism reminds me of the need for all of us to take a closer look at ourselves. Although the storyline was a bit scattered, I found my self laughing, and learning, thanks.Yuck
1By newagroldI always liked Kurt’s books. This one was the worst thing I ever read. I continued reading it thinking it would have some great ending. But alas I have to say Yuck!I don’t write book reviews
4By digarts2020This was a strange and sometimes irritating read. I ended up unable to put it down for the last 100 or so pages. Looking forward to another Vonnegut book on the list here.Love ❤️
5By FineartoffallingMy favorite book. Love Vonnegut!The complete failure of our civilization
5By barthleGalapagos tells, employing a good sense of humor and sarcasm, how our homo sapiens civilization with all its varieties is a total failure "as far as the logic of natural selection concerned". Vonnegut has an immense imagination combined with highly smart humor which is put in service of criticising our ridiculously greedy human culture.An other page turner by the master
5By FunkyfreshinkHere's the story set a million years when people had big brains, but as it turns out they were too big for their own good. As in the Vonnegut way he will draw you in and keep you laughing at the stupidity of mankind, and teach you a few things along the way. If you like other works by Mr. Vonnegut you will certainly enjoy this as well.
