The Sirens of Titan

By: Kurt Vonnegut

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

The Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course there's a catch to the invitation and a prophetic vision about the purpose of human life that only Vonnegut has the courage to tell.

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.©1959 Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Vonnegut is George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer . . . a zany but moral mad scientist.” ( Time)

“His best book . . . He dares not only ask the ultimate question about the meaning of life, but to answer it.” ( Esquire)

“Reading Vonnegut is addictive!” ( Commonweal)

The reader is a highlight

The narrator is better known as Dan Green, the voice of "Yu-Gi-Oh", and he has a range of voices that do a good job of differentiating the characters.

The story starts out as a somewhat low key sort of science fiction but takes an abrupt turn into Crazy Town in the second act and the third act has a bigger twist about the underlying motivations of the plot. And it ends on a downer.

I like the underlying philosophy, but there are parts that will be a little slow and a little too out there for many people. It is a good story but hard to reccomend.

Fun and Interesting

Vonnegut has an incredible way of reframing humanity. He takes the reader along on a unique point of view to consider problems you've never thought about, and ones you've thought about a hundred times. Well performed too

good story - badly extended ending

Where does The Sirens of Titan rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Above average for most sci-fi. Vonnegut is a wordsmith, but can be hard to follow if your attention is distracted. He drills down in interesting ways beneath the surface of his story. He is not ashamed to take creative license, making this unique among sci-fi books. His creative efforts succeed and leave an impression.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

It could have been wrapped-up earlier. The end was taking too long, and the author was predictably pulling heart strings. It was dragged-out uncomfortably. It was irritating. I was begging for this novel to end - near the end. But it just wouldn't. Also -- typical in American literature and mainstream art, African Americans and Women don't fare well. Woman thankful for being raped. Black disposed of as a mere background character. Unfortunately, the usual fare in these departments. I would have told him to rewrite these sections if I were his editor.

What does Jay Snyder bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He reads very consistently. More consistent than the plot of the book. He did an excellent job with this. No complaints.

Who was the most memorable character of The Sirens of Titan and why?

The main character was not the most memorable. Kind of bland. None of the humans were very likable. The character development was not very good -- weak. I couldn't empathize. The story and creative approach is what you would read this for, not the characters.

Any additional comments?

This is kind of an asymmetric work. Weak characters. Strong story reinforced by creative literary concepts and exploration. The author can explore layers of topics naturally, which many sci-fi writers cannot. I can't help feeling this was a one-off, almost an experiment, but it worked artistically.

I don't really know how to describe this book.

You think the message is going to be disclosed through out the book but it does not. After sometime I found myself asking "why is it titled The Sirens of Titan?" it is a really good book shocked it was written in the late 1950s I can't really say much it's like I don't have the words other than that it's a must read.

I just couldn't get into it.

This story may go someplace very interesting, but after about 10 chapters, I just couldn't get into it. Part of the problem was that the narrative is given in such a staccato fashion, and the narrator reflects that measured cadence with his speech. This really cut into the flow for me. Some of Vonnegut's prose is extremely well-written, but the bulk of it stood between me and what he was trying to say. Aside from that, large sections of the book have nothing happening.