Palm Sunday (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "I AM A MEMBER of what I believe to be the last recognizable generation of full-time, life-time American novelists..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Uncle John, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Vonnegut writes with beguiling wit and wisdom about his favorite comedians, country music, a dead friend, and many other facets of his all-too-human journey through life, in a work that resonates with the magic sound of a born storyteller--a self-portrait of an American literary genius. Reissue.

About the Author

Kurt Vonnegut was a master of contemporary American literature. His black humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured America's attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him as "a true artist" with Cat's Cradle in 1963. He was, as Graham Greene declared, "one of the best living American writers.” Mr. Vonnegut passed away in April 2007. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Laurel (March 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440369061
• ISBN-13: 978-0440369066
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #618,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vonnegut as context, January 28, 2002

By	ostawookiee "ostawookiee" (Winston-Salem, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage (Paperback)

Palm Sunday is exactly what it is advertised - an autobiographical collage. KV tells his life story through bits and pieces of short stories, interviews, and ancestral writings. It gives you insight into his motivations from various points of view. The origins of all the plots of all his novels are revealed through him recounting his life experiences, the people he knew, the things he's seen. I feel as if all his novels I've read were clues in some elaborate murder mystery, and the long sought missing link has suddenly been revealed, and I now understand the butler did it.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solidly Average, November 20, 2002

By	Norm Zurawski (Millington, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

It's hard to call this book anything but average, especially for Kurt Vonnegut. In fact, when it comes right down to it, it's even hard to call this a book. This is a collection of speeches and assorted writings that have been compiled and thrown together between 2 covers. There is some new material (mainly commentary) intermingled among these speeches and essays. That commentary is probably the most entertaining aspect of the whole book.

All in all this rates as an average of all the material included, and that average is no more or less than, well, thoroughly average. 3 stars. By giving it 3 stars I think it says the book is worth reading. But it's clearly not worth getting too excited about. No, this is not one of Vonnegut's greatest works. But it is interesting at spots.

In this book Vonnegut touches on all sorts of things, but as many seasoned KV readers will know, it would not be a vintage Vonnegut without mentioning Dresden, Indianapolis, and his son Mark's insanity. All 3 make numerous appearances in the book. It could probably be argued that the name of this book should be exactly that: Dresden, Indianapolis, and Mark's Insanity.

But it's not. It's called Palm Sunday for whatever reason. In it, he rates all of his works to date and I think he does a fair job doing so. For this one, he gives himself a C+, which is fair enough. He also said it took 6 years. If time is an indicator, I'll give him an A for effort.

Those interested in getting to know Vonnegut from the start should try The Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, or Slaughterhouse-5. Those 3 are vintage Vonnegut and worth every good word ever expressed about them. Those who have read all of his fiction works and are looking to peer even deeper into his writings should indeed read this. But do so with the grain of knowledge that this is not his best collection of words.

As much as I have not praised this book it is still worth the read. But I try to paint a fair picture of who should read it. In a nutshell, people who have read many other Vonnegut works should read this one to complete the list of books he has written. Those new to Vonnegut should move on to something more well-crafted and ingenious.

My conclusion? Worth the read, but after you've done some other reading first.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vonnegut self-revealed, May 12, 2007

By	David Robinson (washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Palm Sunday (Paperback)

This volume is a time-capsule of information about Vonnegut's life, as revealed by Vonnegut himself. This book is timely information not only as a memorial to his life, but also as a source of insights about the nature of the world he lived in, specifically including the McCarthy red-baiting years, but the shadows of WWII. Anyone who isn't already familiar with the U.S. fire-bombing of Dresden should be required to read this book in order to get a fuller understanding of the full consequences of warfare. There are implications for current U.S. war efforts.