God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut, 1965

Absurd. Absolutely absurd. Vonnegut's satirical view of modern day society is clearly humorous.

Eliot Rosewater sets out across America visiting various towns and finally lands in Rosewater County. His drunkenness and relationship with the poor make him appear eccentric.  Mushari, a scheming lawyer, is determined to prove Eliot Rosewater insane to usurp some of the Rosewater fortune.

Eliot ends up spending a year in a mental institution. There he is visited by his father, his favorite author, and a lawyer where he wills his fortune to the fifty-seven children he allegedly fathered.

The writing is clear and quite direct. It is easily understood that it reads with ease just as breathing is natural.

Admittedly, there was some great dialog that produced hilarity and sustained chortles. My only fear is the humor may have been wasted on me as I only found a small percentage funny.

I think my favorite and what I remember most is Diana Glampers. Diana is a 68-year-old virgin. Diana is described as "ugly, stupid, and boring. A lonely woman whom nobody has ever loved. She's afraid of electricity since both her parents were killed by lightning, and she has chronic kidney trouble. What a character!

Aside from Diana, Eliot himself is quite the loon himself.  I enjoyed and nearly died with laughter when I envisioned the scene where Eliot sat in his chair and played with his footlong pubic hair swirling it around his fingers.


My rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 stars) - It was ok.



Book description as found on Goodreads.com

"God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" is a comic masterpiece. Eliot Rosewater, drunk, volunteer fireman, and President of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation, is about to attempt a noble experiment with human nature...with a little help from writer Kilgore Trout. The result is Vonnegut's funniest satire, an etched-in-acid portrayal of the greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh we are all heir to.