Nathan P. (dog-eared) reviewed on + 74 more book reviews
"I see no harm in telling young people to prepare for failure rather than success, since failure is the main thing that is going to happen to them," writes main character Eugene Debs Hartke. And not just personal failure, but large-scale continental collapse. The American economy is dominated by Japan, colleges are turned into prisons, and Swedes are mining US forests with Mexican labor. Another Vonnegut hand-slap to America for failing to live up to his expectations for it. But he's a brilliant writer and, again in this book, someone you suspect is deeply concerned about others.