15 Best Kurt Vonnegut Books In Order To Read

Kurt Vonnegut Books

1. Player Piano

Player Piano was the first novel written by Kurt Vonnegut and surprisingly it is also one of the most popular books by the author as well. The book was published in 1952 and it brought a lot of fame and popularity for the author.

Although the book was released over 60 years ago but it is one of the most relevant books read in the present time as well. The book reflects the views of the author on the purposeless capital system. The author has shown concerns for the growing automation in society and how human workers are almost redundant by machines.

The book features a story of a piano that makes music on its own and how humans have made a fool of themselves by being so dependent on the machines. The author has done great work and showed us his observatory style which speaks about the side effects of machines and growing technology. The dark humor of the author and the satirical theme of the book is quite amazing. Overall if you were to start reading Kurt Vonnegut’s books, we would suggest you read his first book.

2. Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five is also one of the best Kurt Vonnegut books to read. This one is also counted among the best work by the author as well. The book was published in 1969 when the Vietnam War was on everyone’s mind. The books were said to be very close to the author and he took nearly 20 years. It was because the book reflects his struggle during wartime. As a soldier in World War II, he was held captive by the Germans and taken to a prison camp.

The author has tried to go put his experience and the horrors of the war in words through his book and he has successfully managed to do that too.

The book features the story of Billy Pilgrim, who is the protagonist of the book. He is an American soldier who has been captured by the Tralfamadorians. They have taken him to their planet and put him in a zoo-like enclosure. The place is having some unusual effects on him and he has built a new ability to be unstuck in time, that is to see things from the past and future. This ability of the protagonist features the PTSD of soldiers and how they relive those horrific scenarios from the war.

It is a great book to read. The book has been written beautifully featuring aliens and a new world. The emotional quotient of the book is also appreciative.

3. The Sirens of Titan

Next on our list of best Kurt Vonnegut books is The Sirens of Titan. The book was published in 1959 and it still is an amazing book to read. This book is straightforward science fiction that would make you wanna read it in one sitting. The book has a nice story with some hilarious sceneries and well-written characters and an amazing background setting that involved space.

The movie features Malachi Constant who is the main protagonist of the book. He is the richest man on the earth and he happens to have everything he can wish for. Bored with ruling one place for a long time now, he shows his desire to explore another planet and dominate that planet as well. There is another character in the book that has an interesting storyline, Winston Niles Rumfoord. He is a space explorer who is currently stuck in a time loop.

The book offers so much more than we can imagine, the characters are funny and witty apart from being smart. The books show the struggle of characters to find the purpose of humanity in this universe. This book is a must-read because many characters will reappear in the later work of Kurt Vonnegut.

4. Cat’s Cradle

Cat’s Cradle is another Kurt Vonnegut book that discusses the world war. It is the fourth novel by the author and it was published in the year 1963.

The book features John who is curse ting narrating the book. He is working on a book that talks about the day when America bombed Hiroshima. During his research for his book, he comes across the physicist who co-created the bomb, Felix Hoenikker. He discovers that the scientist is currently working on developing a mysterious substance called ice-nine.

Parallel to all this, the narrator also discusses a secret island where people practice a mysterious religion called Bokonism. What happens next and what the narrator might find next is what this book is all about. Perfect comic timing and a well-written story with unconventional things are what made this book one of the most popular works by Kurt Vonnegut.

5. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater has also made a place of itself in our list of best Kurt Vonnegut books list. The book was published in 1965.

The story revolves around Eliot Rosewater who is fabulously rich. He denies the popular saying that money can’t buy you happiness because some extra money certainly won’t hurt anyone. He runs a foundation named Rosewater Foundation. Now that he has everything he wants to explore more and that’s when he decided to set up a shop in Rosewater, Indiana. With this, he wishes to dispense the immense amount of love and a limited amount of money to anyone who comes to see him. The book features corporate greed and extreme wealth with a comic take on the whole thing.

6. Mother Night

Mother Night is a 1962 published book by Kurt Vonnegut. The book is, in some ways, a precursor to the Slaughterhouse-Five.

The book features a fictional memoir of Howard W. Jr. This book is also based on the war experiences of the soldiers and what struggles they go through. The narrator has written this memoir in an Israeli prison while awaits his trial.

The memories tell the story of his past and present life and feature the journey of becoming an American spy from a simple man in America. The author has done great work to describe the complexities of war and how war impacts soldiers. If you have read Slaughterhouse-Five then this should be your next Kurt Vonnegut book.

7. Welcome to the Monkey House

When it comes to telling a story or expressing one’s thoughts into a brilliant tale using science fiction or any other scenarios, Kurt Vonnegut does a pretty good job.

If you are a fan of his storytelling style then you must read Welcome to the Monkey House. It is a collection of the short story and was published in 1968. Many thought-provoking stories will stick on your mind for a long and the weirdness of this story will keep you entertained till the last page.

If you haven’t already read a Kurt Vonnegut book, then this one is a perfect book to start reading his work!

8. Breakfast for Champions

If you want to read something that challenges your mind and makes you think about everything then Breakfast for Champions is a good bool for you. This one was published in 1973 and it has been one of the best Kurt Vonnegut books till now.

The book features a science fiction aging writer, Kilgore Trout, who is not well appreciated by the world due to his weird and unconventional stories. But he did some recognition from a small number of fans and one of them is Dwayne Hoover. He is a businessman and currently under the impression that he is the only person on this whole planet to have free will. This is because he took the work of Trout quite literally.

The story has an interesting concept and it talks about free will and what constitutes the truth. The author is also criticizing consumerism, racism, environmental pollution, and the constant beliefs of society on fiction.

9. Galápagos

Galápagos is also a popularly known book by Kurt Vonnegut and it was published in 1983. The book talks about genealogy and anthropology in Kurt Vonnegut’s signature writing style. The book talks about rare spices and a lesser-known island. The pandemic has struck and the human race is on the edge of extinction. The spices of the Galapagos might help in some way or another to save the human race. The theme of the book is the relation of the human race with the environment.

10. Jailbird

Jailbird is yet another fiction memoir of Walter F. Starbucks. It is based on the infamous Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal. Here the author has emphasized the American Labor Movement. It’s a fun read like any other Kurt Vonnegut novel.

11. Bluebeard

Bluebeard is a fictional memoir of yet another interesting character from Champions of Breakfast, Rabo Karabiaken. For a long time now he has lived in secrecy and no one knows anything about his life. But now he has decided to open up more about his life to a young widow.

12. A Man Without Country

A Man Without Country is the last work by the author and it was published in the year 2005. It can be called the autobiography of the author as he shares a series of essays in the book which bring us closer to the author that we have ever known.

13. Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus is another unique story by Kurt Vonnegut where he amazing shares a story of a lovable professor Eugene Debs Hartke. He was a professor at a renowned university until he was fired. After that, he started to teach at the local prison which might result in mass prison breaks.

14. Slapstick

Slapstick is a story about loneliness. Kurt Vonnegut has described loneliness on both the social and individual level. Everything from the characters to the background setup is amazingly described by the author.

15. Timequake

Timequake is another popular book by Kurt Vonnegut that you should try. The author said that he has struggled with this book for quite some time. The book is about free will and determinism and the author has beautifully described these ideas in a fictional story. So do give it a read as it is one of the best books by Kurt Vonnegut.

Conclusion

So these are the best Kurt Vonnegut books that you have been looking for. Although he has written many other books that can be considered best but these are some of the classics that you should not miss out on. We have included the books that have been highly appreciated by the critics as well as the readers. So do look for these books to read next.

Thank you for being here and we hope you have found a few good Kurt Vonnegut books to read next.