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Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut Review
Welcome to the God Bless
You, Mr. Rosewater Review page:
God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater is another
Vonnegut masterpiece, if not an American masterpiece as well. God Bless you, Mr.
Rosewater has very little to do with the genre of science fiction, but rather
with a noble experiment with human nature. Our favorite science fiction writer
(besides Vonnegut) Kilgore Trout also makes his appearance.
Out of all
Vonnegut's novels, this is by far the best. One reason is that there are no sci-fi
trappings, no silliness about time travel or aliens, nothing but a real study
of American history and the impact of wealth and greed on the ideal of democracy.
While short and exceedingly easy to read, the book feels like an epic narrative,
since it sweeps from the very rich to the very poor, from the battlefields of
the Civil War to the modern sailing playgrounds of the very rich. It feels much
longer and richer than it is in terms of page count alone.
For the first
and last time, Vonnegut takes the time to outline a realistic setting,Rosewater
County Indiana, and observes the effects of poverty there with all the power (but
none of the sentimentality) of John Steinbeck at his best. At the same time he
cuts back to New York, writing about the rich Rosewater clan and the wealthy families
of Pisquontuit with all the power (but none of the sentimentality) of Edith Wharton.
Last of all, he uses a brilliant series of flashbacks to describe America's tragic
fall from the courage and carnage of the Civil War to the squalor and self-indulgence
of America today. The Civil War sections alone are unique in Vonnegut's work;
he captures the horror of the casualty rates without in any way denying or shying
away from the ideals of the Union Army. He writes about the civil war with all
of the power (but none of the sentimentality) of Southern apologists like Charles
Frazier.
Eliot Rosewater is an ideal American hero,and a fascinating foil
to Billy Pilgrim in SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. Both are All-American guys. But where
Billy is an average Joe, Eliot is a scion of wealth and privilege. Where Billy
is a ninety eight pound weakling, Eliot is a sailing and tennis champ. Billy is
a one-dimensional anti-war propaganda device, (too "pure" to acquire even the
most basic military discipline) while Eliot is a much-decorated officer who fights
well and suffers as only a brave man can.
God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater
gives Eliot Rosewater the greatest power though. Unlike Billy Pilgrim, Eliot is
not a passive weakling but a crusader who sacrifices wealth and privilege to help
the poor. His warmth, gentleness and paternal concern for the less fortunate are
rendered with tenderness and humor. Vonnegut creates a convincing modern day saint
and gives him a real experience among fully realized victims of modern America.
As always in Vonnegut, the few flaws in the book all involve women. Eliot's
wife Sylvia is flayed raw again and again as a spoiled socialite who simply can't
muster up the gumption to stand by Eliot's side. Vonnegut apologizes for her --
but with a sneer. He never seems to have realized that not all women are as fragile
and treacherous as his own mother, who, as he never gets tired of telling us,
abandoned him by committing suicide at an early age. By the same token, Fred Rosewater
of Rhode Island, Eliot's distant cousin, is rendered as gentle and long-suffering,
while his wife Caroline is a one-dimensional shrew. Vonnegut can't get away from
an instinctive hostility to women as women, as if the mere biological condition
of womanhood were some sort of moral weakness.
His social criticism, as
bracing as it is, often suffers as a result. For example, in the Rhode Island
section, he feels like lashing out at the rich, so he writes (quite memorably)
"four fat, stupid, silly widows in furs were laughing over a bathroom joke printed
on a cocktail napkin." Hell of a sentence! Sounds like Joseph Cotten in SHADOW
OF A DOUBT. But what does it really mean?
What's odd here is that Vonnegut
is attacking the rich, only it seems he only means women. And what he hates about
women is that they know about sex? That they enjoy sex? That sex exists? That
somehow wanting sex killed off the men folk? As Thackeray's Becky Sharp puts it,
he leaves women under the weight of an accusation that is, after all, unspoken.
Still, this is the one Vonnegut book that really has the feel of a fully
accomplished novel, a genuine American classic. It has moral depth and epic scope
that he Vonnegut didn't achieve in his other books. .
Buy God Bless
You, Mr. Rosewater
