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 A lot of people, even Vonnegut fans, probably haven't heard of this book, for whatever reasons. Vonnegut really doesn't discuss it that much, mostly because he dislikes the label of science-fiction, which this book, along with The Sirens of Titan and even Slaughterhouse-Five, clearly is.Still, this book is a must for Vonnegut fans or even those interested in old science-fiction in the style of Orwell or Huxley. Those looking for Vonnegut's classic deadpan black humorist style won't find it here. The beginnings of it are here, however and Vonnegut's tale of Paul Proteus' rebellion against the oppressive government is still as entertaining and fascinating as it was years ago. Read with the aforementioned 1984 and Brave New World, this book provides a slight contrast by using a different tone and more humor, but the message is still the same, that technology will ruin us all and bring about our ultimate downfall. Fortunately this book has been reissued so that fans can see how Vonnegut started out, and fortunately, unlike most writers' first novels, Vonnegut's initial effort is just as readable as his later works
Player Piano is a story of the world in the future, seen from the eyes of Paul, dissatisfied leader of Illium works. Everything is run by machines. Because of this, there are only two types of people. Educated people who work running, regulating, and designing machines, and un-educated people who perform manual tasks machines cannot (ex-road repair). These two types of people live on different sides of town, with very different life styles. They associate with eachother as little as possible. Paul soon realizes that the creation of machines has ruined the lives of many people that could have become something. If only the people would unite, and the machines be destroyed, quality of life could be improved- that is the general theme of this book. Of course, the plot has more depth and is actually very entertaining at parts. There were quite a few "side plots" put in by Vonnegut to stress the theme and make the story more interesting. At times, they did just that. At other times, they seemed unnecessary and just distracted me from the plot. (So be sure to concentrate when reading this book). My only other complaint was that Vonnegut almost used the entire first half of the book to introduce the characters and set the scene for later "action". This is both good and bad. I DO recommend you read this book. It's entertaining, and the moral of the story is very true. Begin reading Player Piano when you have some sort of energy to concentrate, so you can pick up on the characters and story line. You'll get the most out of it that way. Overall, it's a good, entertaining read.
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This is Vonnegut's first book and is not the typically satirical comedies it is more of serios view of a second industrial age. The book is very thoughtfull and worth a read if your a Vonnegut fan you need to get this book because it provides intersting difrences from his later works but I would not suggest this as a first read of his books.
At the beginning it started off slow and then it just got pointless. The society ended up the way the society was fighting to end
