Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Copyright Date: 2011
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ( short )
Back-Cover Description
In twenty-one trips down the "the blue tunnel to the pearly gates" strapped to a gurney, Vonnegut interviews Sir Isaac Newton, Clarence Darrow, James Earl Ray, Eugene Debs, John Brown, Adolf Hitler, William Shakespeare, and Kilgore Trout, among others. What began as a series of ninety-second interludes for WNYC public radio evolved into this provocative collection of questions and answers about who and what we live for, and how much it all matters in the end.
My Thoughts
God Bless You was a very short read. Each account of a "visit" with a deceased person at the pearly gates was approximately three pages. Some were amusing, others were inspiring, others left me wanting.
I found the interviews with people I was not familiar more enjoyable that the ones from people I knew about. I think this is partly due to my expectations going into the story. It was easy for me to simply read the interview and enjoy Vonnegut's unique take on this individual's contribution to mankind if I didn't have an preconcieved notions going into the story. For the interviews for people I knew about, I had questions I wanted for Vonnegut to ask and discuss and he rarely came close to those topics.
Overall this was an entertaining read. At times it was a bit predicable in its themes, but Vonnegut's witty writing makes up for any lack of depth in several of the interviews.
Interesting book review. I was not familiar with this book, but the premise is promising. I might appreciate this one.
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