God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

By: Kurt Vonnegut

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Eliot Rosewater, a drunk volunteer fireman and president of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation, is about to attempt a noble experiment with human nature, with a little help from writer Kilgore Trout. The result is Kurt Vonnegut's funniest satire, an etched-in-acid portrayal of the greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh we are all heir to.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of Kurt Vonnegut's book, you'll also receive an exclusive Jim Atlas interview. This interview – where James Atlas interviews Gay Talese about the life and work of Kurt Vonnegut – begins as soon as the audiobook ends.

This production is part of our Audible Modern Vanguard line, a collection of important works from groundbreaking authors.

©1965 Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Vonnegut] at his wildest best!" ( The New York Times Book Review)

Classic Vonnegut

Great narration! Quirky subject material. Great characters. Had never heard of this one until I saw it on audible's list.

Not Sure Vonnegut Is For Me

Maybe I just don't get Vonnegut or know how to read him, but I am left puzzled by the great reviews. Maybe it was that I listened to it on audio rather than read a print version. Whatever it is....this didn't do much for me.

I found most of the tale to be dull and I wasn't invested in the characters. I understand that this is a satire, but I didn't get the amount of humor that many others seemed to have found. The story was disjointed and meandered, and I felt my mind similarly wandering. On the positive side, I found a few funny parts and I was impressed by the fact that although this was written in 1965, the commentary about the behavior of the rich and privileged still apply today. I didn't feel that the story was dated at all.

I did bump up my rating from a two star to a three star after thinking about the ending. I like how the ending showed that Elliott Rosewater was "crazy like a fox" as the cliché goes!

Still not sure if I will try another Vonnegut or not. Definitely not in the near future.

The One-Percent, Fifty Years Ago

I first read Rosewater in the mid-70s, when I was in high school and college and catching up on the eight books Kurt Vonnegut had written to that point. Rosewater was a disappointment. I wasn't sure why -- it's an early Vonnegut classic, he himself gave it an A. Re-reading it now (listening to it) as an audiobook, I have a newfound respect for the book.

In 1974, when I first read it ten years after it was written, Rosewater was outdated. The Great Society of the 1960s had dealt with many of the issues of income inequality that are at the center of the book. To me, as a 19-year-old hippified college student living in a world where the counterculture was in the process of being mainstreamed, these issues had all been settled -- still a work in progress, but we were all on the same page as to where we needed to take this.

Today, these issues are being re-litigated. What is amazing, in listening to Rosewater, is how close the terminology and the discussion is to the current debates. Short of calling them the 1%, it's virtually identical. Vonnegut shows all sides of it, although his heart is clearly with the philanthropic Eliot Rosewater, who is deemed crazy because he values general welfare more than personal aggrandizement.

Re-reading this book in 2014, it's amazing is how relevant it has once again become, after having been rendered irrelevant when I first read it 40 years ago. That's actually a sad commentary on our current state of affairs, where this and other supposedly long-settled issues (like women's health) have become controversial after decades of being decided. Hopefully we can relearn the lessons taught half a century ago by Kurt Vonnegut through the persona of Eliot Rosewater.

I have now re-read three of Vonnegut's first eight novels in audio. I consider those eight to be his core body of work, written before his widespread popularity and the subsequent diminution of his writing (in my personal opinion, which I recognize is a minority view). Interestingly, the one that I loved best in my youth, Cat's Cradle, came off as totally dated and even (because of that) trite, and the one that didn't grab me back then, Mr. Rosewater, now comes off as fresh and relevant. Contexts change.

Not Vonnegut's best, but not bad

The topic of this book serves as a satirical commentary on American capitalism and the place that money - and the people who have it - hold within society. It is a theme worthy of exploration, but this book lacks the typical spot-on punch of Vonnegut's best work. The message still gets through and in a fairly entertaining fashion, but it falls short of ensuring a lasting impression.

Summerer's narration irritated me at first, but I soon warmed to him. His voice contains a gleeful irony that is perfect for Eliot Rosewater's particular brand of "madness."

Great story, not the greatest performer.

This is one of the best Vonnegut books. The performer though, mispronounced Tralfamador. The performer is not terrible, just not as good as I would like it to be. Audible has really hit the air conditioning with the excrement on some of the performers. For instance, they removed a great Stanley Tucci reading of Breakfast of Champions, and replaced it with a John Malkovich version that sounds like yesterday's oatmeal feels.

Has never been more relevant.

A much needed dash of insanity in an eerily sane world. Such an interesting book!

Amazing book great reader

I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to everyone. The narrator did a great job and the last chapter is interviews which were quite interesting. My only thing I would change is that I wish it said interviews instead of chapter 15.

It was a great experience!

I liked the characters of this book, they are well made, moderately funny, I like how he introduced certain types of people, you can find such characters everywhere even today. I need to digest this book, cause there's a lot to think about, I definitely recommend this book, and the narration is quite good!

Classic Vonnegut Fun

If you could sum up God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater in three words, what would they be?

Witty, Kooky, Interesting

What did you like best about this story?

I had to start the book twice, and really listen to catch the initial premise of the book, but I was glad I did. The story is a great look at the role of money and charity in our society. I love that Vonnegut is unafraid to show the silly, ridiculous, and sometime vulgar side of humanity to illustrate an actually beautiful idea.

How do you love 'useless' people?

This novel touches on something ineffable about the value of people, and raises the question of, well, just what are they for? I pair this work with Player Piano in Vonnegut's prescient inquiry about a future he didn't quite live to see.