Mother Night
by Kurt Vonnegut
I have only enjoyed one of Kurt Vonnegut’s book, but I can now
add a second, Mother Night, to the
list. Vonnegut’s far-fetched creativity
makes for a very memorable book. This is
a pseudo memoir of Howard Campbell, Jr., a former American living in Germany
during the Nazi occupation. Campbell,
born in the US, moves to Germany with his parents and remains in the country
after his parents return home. He works
as a writer/playwright and later newscaster for Nazi radio, marries a German
actress and is secretly approached by the US military to be a spy, sharing
intelligence via his daily radio broadcasts. The story begins seventeen years
after the war when he returns to the US, living in the West Village (right near
NYU!). Campbell had kept his life
private through the help of the US intelligence agencies, but now word is out
that the ‘Nazi sympathizer’ is living in New York City. This wildly entertaining story tells of the
quest to determine whether he is a spy or in fact a supporter of the Nazis and discusses
his deceased wife, the leader of the White Supremacist group, the retired US
military intelligence agent, and veterans from WWII who are out to kill
Howard. All converge to find Howard in a
climax that involves him being tried as an anti-American spy. Will he be found guilty? Will the US secret intelligence save
him? Does he want to be saved? Will Howard ever be able to understand his
role in the Nazi downfall? Only Vonnegut
can capture this type of absurdity – yes, the absurdity of our lives.
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