The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut

Finally having the opportunity to read another on Kurt Vonnegut’s works is an absolute joy. One of my favorite books I’ve ever read is his other work “Slaughterhouse 5” which I believe is an essential read for anyone and everyone. Which why this story was such a nice surprise in reading because there are some familiar themes and even characters from Slaughterhouse 5, the Tralfamadorians being one of them. An Alien species that now has shown up twice in his works from my readings. Also, knowing more about his background and his mental and physical hardships whether its illness or his time in world war 2 all bleed into this work. This is important in my mind because of our class discussion question talking about “writing in genre or just using elements of a genre”. This being a very thin and blurry distinction The Sirens of Titan falls into very well. For from my understanding of Vonnegut the work is more of a metaphorical tool to convey his internal demons. The jumping around of the narrative, which is something that we see in Slaughterhouse 5, can be explained in a Sci-fi way but I also can easily be elements of PTSD or mental illness being conveyed in metaphor. This is why id argue that Vonnegut is writing using elements of Sci-fi and not writing a Sci-fi novel. For even in the basic structure of the work has to room for interpretation, just because there are aliens and space travel everything seems to be a metaphor. While reading the work literally is just as entertaining but turns into an almost “acid trip” at times if taken so literally. Which is the best part of Vonnegut’s work and why everyone should read him!