Jailbird

Kurt Vonnegut - Jailbird

Betyg: 3

Jailbird isn't Vonnegut's best work by a long shot, but it's interesting. What starts off like an autobiography by the least-known of the people who went to jail after Watergate (Nixon's advisor on youth culture - basically, nobody even cared if he came in to work) turns into a commentary on the "American dream" and capitalism and socialism in the US, containing both a passionate defense of Sacco and Vanzetti and Vonnegut's usual deeply serious silliness, where bagladies can secretly own the entire country and the kindness of strangers ALMOST prevails; he's definitely got a political axe to grind, but he does it with such compassion and such sharp observations that that's not really a problem; the fact that the book isn't quite as funny as it thinks and that the narrative itself is the least interesting part of the story - it's really mostly an excuse to get from one satirical scene to the next. is. It's not his best work, but it's still a great read.