Ryan Scott
January 23rd, 2012, 08:15 PM
Timequake is Vonnegut's final novel, but is really more of a memoir. The timequake of the title is a brief contraction of the universe in which everyone has to re-live ten years of their lives as passive participants, unable to change what has happened. It is a Vonnegut-ian exploration of memory, beauty, pleasure and regret.
Set in 1996 (present day for the author), but also 2001 (an imagined future) - the novel centers around Vonnegut's own reminiscents of life and of a failed novel called Timequake (1). The book moves back and forth between the fictional novel, the real Vonnegut's life, and an imagined life in between in which he lives and interacts with his novelist alter-ego, Kilgore Trout.
Ultimately, Timequake is the final message of Vonnegut for the world, uniquely covering life, love and humanity as only Kurt Vonnegut could. It does not fit with his other novels, but serves a profound book end to an extraordinary life.
Set in 1996 (present day for the author), but also 2001 (an imagined future) - the novel centers around Vonnegut's own reminiscents of life and of a failed novel called Timequake (1). The book moves back and forth between the fictional novel, the real Vonnegut's life, and an imagined life in between in which he lives and interacts with his novelist alter-ego, Kilgore Trout.
Ultimately, Timequake is the final message of Vonnegut for the world, uniquely covering life, love and humanity as only Kurt Vonnegut could. It does not fit with his other novels, but serves a profound book end to an extraordinary life.