god bless you, mr. rosewater (kurt vonnegut): a review

 God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (a review)

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

For a while, I loved this book, although I wasn't sure why. It doesn't have much of a plot—a man gives people money and listens to them talk about their personal problems—so I wasn't sure what the concrete appeal was. It was during this reread I realized that I love God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater because it's an argument for the importance of altruism and the value of humanity. I like people and altruism, so I am a fan.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater relays the epic adventures of a middle-aged millionaire volunteer firefighter enthusiast who moves back to his hometown and sets up a foundation to "love people who have no use." I don't think that's a spoiler, but since there's no plot, it's hard to tell. Anyway, his whole family thinks he's gone crazy because he cares about other people, and a lawyer tries to get him declared insane by a court so the Rhode Island Rosewaters will get his money when he dies. You may be wondering how this could possibly be interesting, and, to be honest, so am I.

This is my third time reading God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater although only the first time I understood the satire. It's crazy how my understanding of the main themes of this book is completely divorced from my enjoyment of the book. I thought Kurt Vonnegut liked capitalism. Or, at least, I didn't think he disliked capitalism. He actually is making fun of capitalism in this book. It's crazy how I didn't get that, but the more books I read, the more I realize that I am very, very good at missing the point. I was given the sage advice that whatever Kurt Vonnegut kind of sounds like he's saying, he's probably saying the opposite of that. I would do well to keep this in mind in the future.

I was a big fan of Eliot Rosewater. The man is vibing. He is living his best life. He just wants to be happy with his charitable foundation and his eccentric interests and his altruistic mindset and supporting characters are constantly hating on him. It's because they hate to see a girlboss winning. Actually it's because they're capitalists, but that's more or less the same thing as hating to see a girlboss winning. I'm trying to remember what other characters I liked, but I did read this book last week, so it's a struggle. I liked Kilgore Trout. Kilgore Trout is nothing if not a girlboss. Oh, I liked Lila. She doesn't have a great deal of page time, but she is also a girlboss. I admire her borderline con woman entrepreneurial spirit. 

Interestingly, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater would be an excellent book to read if you have recently read Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (which I recommend, by the way, but not as much as Sapiens). Homo Deus is a book about the future of humanity and how new technology like algorithms and artificial intelligence will affect very basic aspects of human life like employment and free will. Homo Deus considers the problem of how we will be able to live our lives as technology makes many of us obsolete. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater anticipates the questions asked by Homo Deus 50 years before its publication. I mean, its answer is a bit twee (love), but it's still pretty nice. It's sort of Triumph of the Human Spirit, insomuch as Kurt Vonnegut ever writes about the human spirit triumphing, so if that's something you enjoy, have I got the book for you.