Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #279520 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Underestimated book
I searched for this book for years, ever since reading it in the 80s. Never got on well with other Vonnegut books but the story of this one showed quite clearly how our society could easily go - divided between technocrats and others, a process driven system taken to its logical but untenable conclusion . A good testament to the individualilty and irrepressability of the human race who do not really respond well to a 'logical' or over regulated system of living, even if it does mean that they are protected and provided for. It is no way to produce a perfect society. I always kept an eye out for it then wanted to write an essay about the development of cities which made me search for it harder. Found it on Amazon and although the cover design was a bit naff, the story inside just the same but a little bit closer. I never understood why so few people have read or heard of it. Long live irrepressible people and chaotic rules!

Vonnegut's first novel and his best.
Player Piano is in my opinion Kurt Vonnegut's finest novel and it beggars belief that it has been out of print for such a considerable length of time. I was lucky enough to find a second hand copy of it on Amazon and breezed through it in a couple of sittings; I hope you too can find a copy available.

Set in the aftermath of World War Three it depicts brilliantly a world in which men are becoming obsolete, replaced by the machines they themselves have built, hence the title. The story follows Dr Paul Proteus, one of the scientific elite, as he becomes increasingly disillusioned with his life in a society which robs men of their dignity and any pride previously enjoyed by work.

Despite enjoying the luxuries that come with being a member of the scientific elite, Proteus finds himself growing sympathetic towards the un-skilled and redundant masses that are forced into either military service or soul destroying works of reconstruction. This sympathy, along with the frustration he experiences as part of the corporate system which leads contradictorily to competition amongst its workers whilst attempting to foster a false co-operative spirit causes him to rebel against the system. Anyone who has been subjected to ‘team-building’ exercises in the work place will cringe at the horrors of ‘the Meadows’, a kind of corporate summer camp that Proteus has to endure, as well as many other episodes that remind one constantly of the situation many currently face in the workplace.

Written in 1952, I find this to be one of the most prophetic novels I have come across. Do whatever you have to do to get a hold of a copy of Player Piano.