Big BOoty List #12 and #13 Sirens of Titan/Mother Night

Sirens of Titan

Wow. Started strong this year and then Spring happened and all the chores/kids/lawn care/school practicum and things caught up with me, leaving little 'me' time to read anything other than skimming through social media posts.

But I did re-read this great piece of sarcasm from Kurt Vonnegut; one of his earlier works which generated enough interest for him to continue writing. It also made me want to brush off another work of his I own, Mother Night, and re-read that as well. Two different styles, two great books.

Sirens of Titan is about a series of events which answer the philosophical question as to 'Why are we here?' It delves into religions, civilizations, space travel, inter-dimensional travel, capitalism and the need for people to believe we are here for some purpose. It turns out we are, but it's not what you might expect.

#13 Mother Night

After Sirens, I needed more Vonnegut so I went to the bookshelf and pulled out this one, a little find from Parry Sound, childhood home of my wife and little-known hockey legend, Bobby Orr.

Mother Night is a first person account of Howard Campbell, an American who is awaiting trial in Israel for Crimes Against Humanity and treason sometime in the late 50s. He was a German radio propagandist, working with the German High Command to promote hatred towards Jews and is beloved by American racists and finds himself outed by a white supremacist group which leads to his arrest. He claims he was a spy, working for America in sending secret messages through his broadcasts but the only problem is, he doesn't know who the man was that recruited him.

The book talks of his life in Germany, the loss of his love and the moments of civility he saw in a time of lunacy. In a brief conversation, his character answers the age-old wannabe writer's question of 'inspiration or dedication?' - does one wait for inspiration to write or simply write every day, no matter what the output may be? I think Vonnegut answers for himself, a hint into his writing style when he says it is dedication, not inspiration.

Sadly, I have not had that dedication lately.