I finished Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut in the early hours Sunday, after having not read much by him, regrettably, before. I then spent all of Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon collecting boxes (of exclusively books) from a storage unit, and unpacking them in my bedroom which can now be described as a room made of books, that has furniture, also. On Saturday, the furniture would have been the dominant feature. I cannot deny, I prefer it in its new state. I did this, however, because I just know that somewhere within my realm of possessions, but just beyond my recollection is a copy of Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five. In a sentence: I loved Galápagos so much that I unpacked and assorted several hundreds of pounds of books just to find and read another of Kurts novels. I have failed to find it, even though I know it is around here somewhere, but the extent of my patience has been exceeded so I am breaking down and buying the book on my way home this evening. I have told you this story because no description that could be penned can more than adequately describe what you will find within the novel itself, except for maybe one written by Kurt Vonnegut, so I leave you today with the blurb from the dusk-jacket insert: Long, long ago, as he researched into the origin of species, Charles Darwin had been inspired by the creatures of the Galápagos. Now, a million years on, the new inhabitants of the islands - the human survivors of the Nature Cruise of the Century - have quietly evolved into sleek, furry creatures with flippers and small brains. All other forms of humankind have ceased to exist, finally made redundant by their own inventions. All that survives of the Big-Brain Culture is contained in Mandarax, a tiny electronic marvel which can recall any one of twenty thousand popular quotations from world literature, as well as translate among a thousand languages. Unfortunately, Mandarax doesnt understand Kanka-Bono, the language of the cannibals who have arrived to look after the new humanity. . . * * * I give it 10 out of 10.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:45:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015