A little quiet to work, and a life with his wife Helga, whom he loves with the purest feelings. Campbell such a terrific character is that he's longing for the same things everybody does. For those who lived through World War II, could there be something else to their lives? Could they try to live in margin of the conflict? What makes Howard J. Vonnegut's novel investigates the moral implications of being an artist in a time of war. That "there is an enemy within" vibe that characterized the McCarthy years in the U.S. Its scope is covering many conflicts World War II is the main one discussed, but there are many allusions to the cold war paranoia. Mother Night was my selection for " Wartime Setting Book" in the challenge and it proved to be more complex than your traditional war novel. The book opens in Jerusalem in 1961 where Howard awaits his trial for war crimes and there's nobody to confess the truth to, except disinterested guards and fellow convicts like the infamous Adolf Eichmann. He's so detached from the conflict that nobody knows he's an American spy. Issues of race and politics are not his concern. Being moving, convincing and awe-inspiring is what he seeks. Howard is an artist, first and foremost, and his art is what's important for him. So much that his biggest political enemies (such as Franklin Roosevelt) tune in to listen to him. He is given a broadcast that gets wildly popular. He does quite good for himself over there. When the nazis seize power in 1933, Campbell decides not to leave and starts working for Goebbels' propaganda department. Campbell, an American playwright who grew up and got published and produced in Germany. It's a complex and emotional novel, yet Vonnegut's style is spare and accurate. Mother Night was the seventh book I read for the Back To The Classics 2011 challenge and it's my favorite, along with The Executioner's Song. Who cares about another nazi story nowadays? Well, good ol' Kurt makes you care about it. He tackled issues so well, he made them universal and time-proofed. His style was lean and fluid, yet packed with complex ideas. There are clear reasons why Kurt Vonnegut was the fucking man. You know, that exhilarating feeling you get when you discover a writer that makes your mind spin so fast it smokes? It happened to me when I read Slaughterhouse-Five many years ago and it happened again last week. Reading Mother Night, I had a second honeymoon with Kurt Vonnegut.
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