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Galapagos

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Galapagos

By: Kurt Vonnegut
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
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About this listen

Galapagos takes the listener back one million years to AD 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galapagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, totally different human race.

Kurt Vonnegut, America's master satirist, looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry - and all that is worth saving.

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.©1985 Kurt Vonnegut (P)2008 Audible, Inc. Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Satire Science Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Beautiful...provocative, arresting reading." ( USA Today)
"Vonnegut is a post-modern Mark Train....Galapagos is a madcap genealogical adventure." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"The best Vonnegut novel yet!" (John Irving)
All stars
Most relevant  
A great and broad-ranging story, inclusive and generous. Well written, witty and funny, despite its gloomy view of the future of mankind. A great read, very well performed.

Prophetic and also funny

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It will make you laugh out loud and weep too
Very talented writer
5 stars

A stunning book

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interesting and well written but I struggled to follow the plot as it drifted around.

The problem with my brain being too small

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I haven’r read or listened to a Kurt Vonnegut Jr. book for 15 or 20 years. After listening to this one, which I hadn’t read before, I’ll listen to some more… though some of them need to be read since they have relevant drawings. I loved the simple device of our supposed evolutionary advantage turning out to be our downfall. I can’t imagine there’s anyone who would not enjoy this.

I enjoyed it very much

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Unique style, but not inherently gripping. Somewhat hard to follow and convoluted with the time-skips and numerous characters. Decent enough story and well enough told though.

Distinctly Average

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Really enjoyed this- the humour, the gloomy view of people, the ideas.

Brilliant

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I think this has to be my all time favourite book. And it's absolutely wonderfully narrated!

I loved everything about this book. Everything!

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Not as well known as his others, but this is a fantastic Vonnegut audiobook. Had me chuckling away and pondering the meaning of it all...

Brilliant

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As always Vonnegut makes you think. I found this book enjoyable and the narrator was very good too.

Interesting

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" Our brains are so terrifically oversized, we have to keep inventing things to want, to buy" ... "Our brains are much too large.. We are much too busy. Our brains have proved to be terribly destructive"

Leon Trout's ghost t, a Vietnam war veteran who died on during the construction of Bahia de Darwin, narrates the story of a group of 10 mismatched humans on the fictional island of Santa Rosalia in the Galapagos Islands. Trout declined to go through the blue tunnel to entre the afterlife when he died as he was curious about the human condition and his ghost got stuck on the ship for million years.

According to Trout, the real villain of the story is the human brain, its the cause of suffering and hardship. It's oversized and acts as a detriment instead of surviving in nature.

Trout narrates how in a million years in the future, human beings have evolved into swimming mammals, covered in fur with small brains and flippers instead of hands.

The story highlights the downfall of the human race as a result of their big brains and selfish characteristics.

A bit of dark comedy, satire and mokery of humanity.

3.5 🌟 in total

A bit of dark comedy, satire and mokery

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