Bluebeard
by Kurt Vonnegut · first published 1987
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A later Vonnegut novel that sums up his major themes and motifs, with a fresh, energetic voice. It suits readers who already know his work or want a rewarding next step in his writing.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Broad humor and bitter irony collide in this fictional autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, who, at age seventy-one, wants to be left alone on his Long Island estate with the secret he has locked inside his potato barn. But then a voluptuous young widow badgers Rabo into telling his life story—and Vonnegut in turn tells us the plain, heart-hammering truth about man’s careless fancy to create or destroy what he loves.
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For a literary interpretation of the Abstract Expressionist movement, the novel Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut is a pretty swell treatment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebeard_(Vonnegut_novel)
on “How a gray painting can break your heart” ↗Some interesting books by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.: Breakfast of Champions Bluebeard Deadeye Dick
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗…Bujold (three worlds to choose from, each offering many more or less independent novels and novellas), who is also great. A few more: Sometimes a Great Notion, Ken Kesey. My Antonia, Willa Cather. Bluebeard, Kurt Vonnegut.
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗This reminds me of the novel Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebeard_(Vonnegut_novel)#Pai...
on “An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s” ↗…have a name for him or her. We call him or her an "exhibitionist". How do we reward such an exhibitionist? We say to him or her the next morning, "Wow! Were you ever drunk last night!" - Kurt Vonnegut, Bluebeard, 1987. ---- I think the reality of this observation has remained the same, and after a brief period of confusion, the promise of success and reward for creative people has expanded, and the promise…
on “How the Birth of the Influencer Led to the Death of Hobbies” ↗