Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

 Young Kurt Vonnegut in the US Army 

“Don't put one foot in your job and the other in your dream, Ed. Go ahead and quit, or resign yourself to this life. It's just too much of a temptation for fate to split you right up the middle before you've made up your mind which way to go.” 

“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.” 

“Not slaves,” said Halyard, chuckling patronizingly. “Citizens, employed by government.” 

        This is the first novel that Vonnegut ever published and the first book of his that I ever read. Undoubtedly, one of the more important American writers in recent times. He has a unique way with words and story telling that is nearly unexplainable because of it's incomparable nature.  He enjoys twisting traditional means of writing, and has the ability to ramble for pages and chapters while still making funny points and serious critiques of society, most fairly labeled a black humorist and satirist.  Onto the novel itself.  This work focuses on the flaws within a developing society and the dangers that a mechanized world could hold. During a Third World War with all the American troops in foreign countries, machines had to be created in order to fill their spots at work.  After the war, society has been split into the managers and engineers who run everything, and then the rest of the masses are mostly jobless and reckless due to their unemployment. The plot follows one of the more important managers within this society, and eventually his choice to turn against his companions and rebel against the world as it is.  One of the more notable features of this novel is the rashness and reality that occurs when the events begin to take place and spiral out of control.  Before the protagonist knows it, he is in the thick of a serious and momentous occasion, it makes you wonder if a momentous event in your life is not too far away. Vonnegut leaves you questioning today's society and whether it is all it seems.  To a first time Vonnegut reader I might recommend other works such as Sirens of Titan or Cat's Cradle because they are initially more readable and enjoyable when not used  to Vonnegut's antics. 3.5/5