Bluebeard

by Kurt Vonnegut

[clementine]

I LOVED this book. Slaugherhouse-Five was my first exposure to Vonnegut, and I loved it. I had much more mixed feelings about Cat's Cradle, which is probably his second best known book. I'm quite confused as to why Bluebeard isn't more popular; I adored it and thought it was stronger than Cat's Cradle.

The most impressive thing about this book to me is the fact that not much actually happens. Certainly, there are the over-the-top, barely believeable elements that I would expect from Vonnegut, but in terms of plot it's fairly tame. The writing is so incredibly engrossing, however; it strikes such a fine balance between conversational and formal.

It seems very straightforward at first, but there are so many layers to it. The language is quite simple, which can be misleading - there's a lot going on, and it demands to be read many times over. The ending (the reveal of what is in the potato barn) was perfect in so many ways.

This might actually be my favourite of Vonnegut's books so far. I did love Slaughterhouse-Five, but this book is really spectacular too.