supralurid's Full Review: Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - The Sirens of Titan
Sirens of Titan, like many of Vonnegut's other novels, is a fine example of his masterful writing, satyric sense of humor, and brilliant ability to connect the most seemingly insignificant details flawlessly to create metaphor. His writing is blunt and straightforward, but can sometimes manage to be strikingly beautiful. While this book is a bit grim, I'm not so sure I can go so far as to call it pessimistic. There was, somewhere, a (slightly jaded) hopeful message.
(Warning: the following may reveal some details you don't want to know till you've got to the end of the book.)
The message is almost that humans need to stop looking to God for help or feeling that God needs, wants, or appreciates us in any way. This could be a hopeful message, depending on your faith. Winston Niles Rumfoord, grand-schemer, tells us that we need to stop relying on "someone up there" and start relying on ourselves. But by that same token, we are also taught to self-handicap (*see below) in order to give our fellow humans the same opportunities we have. Rumfoord feels that he is doing the whole world a wonderful benefit by teaching them to rely on themselves and stop worrying about God (who obviously has more important things to worry about than humans). His introduction of The Church of God The Utterly Indifferent is his attempt to save humanity from itself. Unfortunately though, Rumfoord has a few surprises waiting for him back on Titan to help him come to the realization that we are not masters of our own fate. This little bit of hope doesn't quite pan out.
Rumfoord eventually learns the truth about who is really controlling things, realizes mankind does not control its own fate. We are left, in the end, with Malachi, Beatrice, and Chrono who have all been pawns in Rumfoord's plot to save the world. They are icons in the Church of God the Utterly Indifferent. They were used for a large portion of their adult lives to Rumfoord's ends, of which they neither receive nor desire the fruits. However, this is where we find the lesson.
The key point of the Sirens of Titan, I believe, is that we are all being used by somebody. This isn't necessarily as bad a thing as one might think. In some sense, it gives life purpose. As Beatrice states so succinctly, "The worst thing that could possibly happen would be to not be used for anything by anybody."
So perhaps it is a grim message, but it isn't quite pessimistic.
* As this is one of Vonnegut's earliest novels, I am not sure where (punctually) it relates to his other works. Perhaps this was a springboard for several later ideas. We see some ideas he uses in other stories and novels. The Tralfamadorians of Slaughterhouse 5. The handicapping as an attempt to make all men equal as in Harrison Bergeron. The bizarre satire on religion as in Cat's Cradle's Bokononism and Slapstick's Church of Jesus Christ the Kidnapped.
I almost always enjoy Vonnegut. Sirens of Titan was no exception. He is wonderfully imaginative, but keeps his characters believable. However, this wasn't my favorite. I recommend this as an introduction to Vonnegut. When you're ready, move on to Player Piano, Slapstick, and Cat's Cradle.
The Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a c...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
General Fiction - A cold and malevolent universe is all the humanity can ever know. In the near future, Vonnegut's scientific researchers learn that t...More at Barnes and Noble
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