Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Dial Press Trade Paperback (1998), Paperback, 336 pages
Description
"Broad humor and bitter irony collide in this fictional autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, who, at age seventy-one, wants to be left alone on his Long Island estate with the secret he has locked inside his potato barn. But then a voluptuous young widow badgers Rabo into telling his life story--and Vonnegut in turn tells us the plain, heart-hammering truth about man's careless fancy to create or destroy what he loves"--Cover.
Media reviews
There may be greater noevelists than Vonnegut, but there can be a few, if any, with as much good humour and generorisy. His long-standing affection for his fellow science-fiction writers, a clan still beyond the pale of polite society - 'I love you crazy sons of bitches,' he told them in 'God Bless
Show More
You, Mr Rosewater' - now extends to the whole human race, whose members also sit well below the salt but, in Vonnegut's eyes, display the same innocence, feckless enthusiasms and general tendency to trip over the furniture. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member dczapka
Something about this book hits that wonderful middle ground of what I love about Vonnegut: there's a great deal of comfort and familiarity with the tone and style (though it pretends to be the autobiography of world-renowned American Expressionist painter Rabo Karabekian) while at the same time
Spanning momentous events in Rabo's life, it bounces effortlessly across time and space, and by the end has tied the whole of his wondrous life together by solving, in marvelous fashion, the central mystery posed early in the book.
By the end, you realize that not a single word has been wasted, and it becomes impossible not to appreciate what a marvel of craftsmanship this particular work is.
Easily among Vonnegut's finest.
Show More
having an enthralling and imaginative story to tell.Spanning momentous events in Rabo's life, it bounces effortlessly across time and space, and by the end has tied the whole of his wondrous life together by solving, in marvelous fashion, the central mystery posed early in the book.
By the end, you realize that not a single word has been wasted, and it becomes impossible not to appreciate what a marvel of craftsmanship this particular work is.
Easily among Vonnegut's finest.
Show Less
LibraryThing member fuzzy_patters
A fictional autobiography about an abstract expressionist painter, Bluebeard is a rich and vibrant tale about the quest for meaning in life and art. Humorously told, it is a quick but enjoyable read, and I highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member MrsLee
An aging artist who has never quite found his muse, meets a middle-aged widow who is determined to get him out of the blues and find out what he has to offer to the world. This is his autobiography and sometimes diary.
I didn't know what to expect from a Vonnegut novel, and I didn't expect I would
I did NOT expect a happy ending, not even sure it feels right, however, I am thankful for it because dreary books make me feel weary. Life is too dreary at the moment to read dreary fiction.
I didn't know what to expect from a Vonnegut novel, and I didn't expect I would
Show More
like it much from things I have heard about his other stories. Surprise, surprise! I enjoyed this very much. The characters were all quite interesting and the way they were introduced was like nibbling at a fine cheese, then wanting more. I think I learned more about the motives and reasons for Abstract Expressionism than I have ever learned from reading Art History books. Intriguing. I did NOT expect a happy ending, not even sure it feels right, however, I am thankful for it because dreary books make me feel weary. Life is too dreary at the moment to read dreary fiction.
Show Less
LibraryThing member figre
If you have read Vonnegut before, then you know what to expect from this book. In fact, there are hints of Cat’s Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, and a few other of his books within the pages. We have an artist writing about his past, but in the process letting us know about his present. It is
And, if you have not read Vonnegut before, start with a different book. Not that this one isn’t good, you will just be better off starting somewhere else.
Show More
Vonnegut pontificating on many of his regular subjects – war, humanity, what the heck is this life anyway – through odd characters in odd situations. But, even if it is a slight rehash, it is always good to read Vonnegut. And, even if this isn’t groundbreaking, it is another chance to taste Vonnegut’s excellent story telling.And, if you have not read Vonnegut before, start with a different book. Not that this one isn’t good, you will just be better off starting somewhere else.
Show Less
LibraryThing member shawnd
This lilting powerhouse of American literature is closer in some ways to Salinger than the typical ex-Dresden-bombing-middle-American-ethnic-science-fiction protagonist cavorting with unexpected celebrity and/or beautiful women. The main character, an Armenian veteran, still is graced with
Show More
Vonnegutian coincidences but among a more Great American Novel/Salinger cast, with some nods to New York, although set globally and in the Hamptons. In the book, Rabo, the main character, is an erstwhile early member of the Abstract Expressionist painting movement. The book touches on generosity, minorities-with-lack-of-mentorship, love, fate of women in our universal struggle, without some of the more common Vonnegut problems of lust, technology, and ignorance. Perhaps Vonnegut's best. Show Less
LibraryThing member jscape2000
This is probably my favorite Vonnegut novel. It is his most mainstream, the one that most closely follows the traditional model. But I think it's also Vonnegut at his most powerful, because it's Vonnegut at his most hopeful.
Bluebeard is about an artist named Rabo Karabekian's whose life, like his
Bluebeard is about an artist named Rabo Karabekian's whose life, like his
Show More
art, has completely fallen apart. The novel functions as his memoir, which he doesn't want to write. But as the novel progresses, Rabo discovers that he has more to say. He make a form of peace with his past, and he takes a step forward in a way Vonnegut's characters rarely do. Show Less
LibraryThing member PMaranci
The fictional autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, the son of survivors of the Armenian Genocide, one-eyed veteran of World War II, and spectacularly talented (but failed) modern artist.
As an Armenian-American, I can't be objective about this book. Vonnegut got too much of the Armenian-American
That's not to say that Vonnegut wallows in ethnicity. Not at all! But I'm sure that I got a little more out of the book than non-Armenians would.
It's a good example of Vonnegut at the height of his abilities. Written in 1988, it lacks the science-fiction aspects of some of his better-known works - and frankly, I think that's a *good* thing. Without fantastic elements, the book nonetheless manages to be wry, funny, insightful, and ultimately very touching. As with many of my favorite books, the ending never fails to leave me deeply moved.
As an Armenian-American, I can't be objective about this book. Vonnegut got too much of the Armenian-American
Show More
experience right, so this book speaks to me in a way that non-Armenians probably wouldn't understand. Although I suspect that fans of modern art might feel the same way.That's not to say that Vonnegut wallows in ethnicity. Not at all! But I'm sure that I got a little more out of the book than non-Armenians would.
It's a good example of Vonnegut at the height of his abilities. Written in 1988, it lacks the science-fiction aspects of some of his better-known works - and frankly, I think that's a *good* thing. Without fantastic elements, the book nonetheless manages to be wry, funny, insightful, and ultimately very touching. As with many of my favorite books, the ending never fails to leave me deeply moved.
Show Less
LibraryThing member petrojoh
Enjoyable character study. However, after reading the book it is difficult to figure out if Mr. Vonnegut is defending or mocking the ab ex art movement.
LibraryThing member ckoller
This was a good, engaging book but it tended to drag on. It's written in a stream-of-consciousness style, not my favorite.
LibraryThing member the_awesome_opossum
Rene Magritte painted a very famous picture of a pipe with the text Ceci n'est pas une pipe - This is not a pipe. And he was right: it was a representation of a pipe, but what it actually is is acrylic paint on a canvas. (Then again, in that statement we might want to consult with Bill Clinton "on
Rabo Karabekian is a failed artist, whose paintings literally disintegrated due to a poor (but unforseeable) choice of materials. Now, at the twilight of his years, he sets out to write an autobiography. Unfortunately, like his paintings, the book quickly devolves in an abstract and aimless rambling about the parts of his life that he can still remember. And yet, there turns out to be value in that selective representation. Rabo's artistic philosophy and training has ranged all the way from "Draw everything the way it really is" (early in life) to telling his audience to "Make up your own stories as you look at the whatchamacallit" (very late). Yet the abstractions and ambiguities that define modern art are nevertheless choices made by the artists, that can effect an emotional impact on audiences. So art does not contain Meaning so much as a multiplicity of meanings, and audiences can come away with (ill-defined but nevertheless real) emotionally resonant somethings rather than nothing.
Show More
what the meaning of the word 'is' is"). This self-aware and ultimately self-defeating anti-ideal espoused by modern and postmodern art, the absence or artificiality of its meaning, is satirized in Bluebeard. Rabo Karabekian is a failed artist, whose paintings literally disintegrated due to a poor (but unforseeable) choice of materials. Now, at the twilight of his years, he sets out to write an autobiography. Unfortunately, like his paintings, the book quickly devolves in an abstract and aimless rambling about the parts of his life that he can still remember. And yet, there turns out to be value in that selective representation. Rabo's artistic philosophy and training has ranged all the way from "Draw everything the way it really is" (early in life) to telling his audience to "Make up your own stories as you look at the whatchamacallit" (very late). Yet the abstractions and ambiguities that define modern art are nevertheless choices made by the artists, that can effect an emotional impact on audiences. So art does not contain Meaning so much as a multiplicity of meanings, and audiences can come away with (ill-defined but nevertheless real) emotionally resonant somethings rather than nothing.
Show Less
LibraryThing member giovannigf
It had been some 15 years since I had last read Vonnegut, and reading Bluebeard now reminded me why. While he's undeniably entertaining, Vonnegut's insights are not particularly deep or challenging: war is bad, men are bad to women, art should be earnest, etc. etc.
It would make more sense if these
It would make more sense if these
Show More
books were marketed towards young adults. Show Less
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
One of KV's later works. Rabo Karabekian is me in a lot of ways. Without the potato barn. Or the giant painting of WWII.
LibraryThing member frozenplums
This was a very "bare bones" book - Vonnegut does not get very detailed beyond a few very important objects. It almost read like a diary. That being said, I really liked it anyway. There was a lot going on symbolically and between the lines, and I definitely got the impression of a struggling
You have to pay attention. I would consider this one of those books that you're going to get out of only what you put into it. Definitely, without a doubt, a worthwhile read.
Show More
artist waffling between defeat and that last effort to absorb inspiration from any old thing.You have to pay attention. I would consider this one of those books that you're going to get out of only what you put into it. Definitely, without a doubt, a worthwhile read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jhudsui
Hella preachy, but also a lot funnier than I remember Vonnegut being.
LibraryThing member jeffjardine
I enjoyed Bluebeard more than most of Vonnegut's other later books. I suppose you could consider it his take on art.
The story is told in the format of an autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, the abstract painter with a minor but memorable role in Breakfast of Champions. It is in Vonnegut's trademark
The story is told in the format of an autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, the abstract painter with a minor but memorable role in Breakfast of Champions. It is in Vonnegut's trademark
Show More
punchy style, though a little more tame than usual, and is riddled with his trademark coincidences, though they seemed a little bit forced. Overall, a fine book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Nickidemus
The Basics
Rabo Karabekian is an artist aging alone in a big house full of modern art. Then one day he finds Circe Berman, a young widow, on his private beach. She urges him to write an autobiography about his life, invites herself to live in his house, and starts asking questions about the locked
My Thoughts
Vonnegut doesn’t write bad books. I’ve come to believe that wholeheartedly. I do think sometimes he writes books that aren’t for everyone though, and while I enjoyed this book, there were things that left me wishing for better.
Let me start with Circe Berman. While this wasn’t really a trope when it was written, she smacks of Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She sweeps into Rabo’s life to change it for the better while struggling to be a character herself. It wasn’t until the end that I felt she had really become something besides a catalyst for Rabo, but even that felt weak. Not to mention that when Rabo’s irritation with her built, so did mine, so I struggled to both understand and like her. It didn’t break the book for me, but it was a hurdle.
I also think, and this is my problem more than it is Vonnegut’s, that this book wasn’t strange enough. For someone that’s really known for delivering oddities with a smirk, this didn’t have much of that at all. That’s not to say it wasn’t odd in its way, but the oddness was still within the walls of contemporary literature. I adjusted to it and enjoyed the book, but I think this is a sign of the sort of reputation Vonnegut made for himself as a writer of the wonderfully weird and how hard it was for him to break out.
That said, it was still a wonderful book with all that Vonnegut charm. Vonnegut attempts here to chart his way through the waters of modern art, to talk equally about what someone could see in it and what people may be incapable of seeing in it, and much of that is insightful and hilarious. He talks about war in that way that is unique entirely to him. He tells Rabo’s story the way a man facing his past might: in anecdotes, turning to look at memories only when he is prepared for them, and it works.
I always feel personally rewarded when I read Vonnegut, and this was no exception.
Final Rating
4/5
Rabo Karabekian is an artist aging alone in a big house full of modern art. Then one day he finds Circe Berman, a young widow, on his private beach. She urges him to write an autobiography about his life, invites herself to live in his house, and starts asking questions about the locked
Show More
potato barn on his property. Herein, Rabo unravels his life story and eventually comes to face that barn himself.My Thoughts
Vonnegut doesn’t write bad books. I’ve come to believe that wholeheartedly. I do think sometimes he writes books that aren’t for everyone though, and while I enjoyed this book, there were things that left me wishing for better.
Let me start with Circe Berman. While this wasn’t really a trope when it was written, she smacks of Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She sweeps into Rabo’s life to change it for the better while struggling to be a character herself. It wasn’t until the end that I felt she had really become something besides a catalyst for Rabo, but even that felt weak. Not to mention that when Rabo’s irritation with her built, so did mine, so I struggled to both understand and like her. It didn’t break the book for me, but it was a hurdle.
I also think, and this is my problem more than it is Vonnegut’s, that this book wasn’t strange enough. For someone that’s really known for delivering oddities with a smirk, this didn’t have much of that at all. That’s not to say it wasn’t odd in its way, but the oddness was still within the walls of contemporary literature. I adjusted to it and enjoyed the book, but I think this is a sign of the sort of reputation Vonnegut made for himself as a writer of the wonderfully weird and how hard it was for him to break out.
That said, it was still a wonderful book with all that Vonnegut charm. Vonnegut attempts here to chart his way through the waters of modern art, to talk equally about what someone could see in it and what people may be incapable of seeing in it, and much of that is insightful and hilarious. He talks about war in that way that is unique entirely to him. He tells Rabo’s story the way a man facing his past might: in anecdotes, turning to look at memories only when he is prepared for them, and it works.
I always feel personally rewarded when I read Vonnegut, and this was no exception.
Final Rating
4/5
Show Less
LibraryThing member datrappert
Not one of Vonnegut's best, owing to the fact that painter Rabo Karabekian isn't nearly as interesting as, for say, writer Kilgore Trout. It does have one of my favorite Vonnegut lines, however: "What kind of man would turn his daughter into an outboard motor." Or something like that.
LibraryThing member ecataldi
This is one of the most... different novels by Kurt Vonnegut that I have ever read. For one the story is told in a linear format and doesn't jump all over the place. He tells a traditional story with, get this, a surprise at the end, a surprise that he doesn't ruin for you! Plus it has a happy
This book follows Rabo Karabekian's involvement in the abstract art movement and his subsequent hum drum/ boring life that he has fallen into as an old man. When Circe Berman barges into his mansion she turns his life upside down and begins to bring him back to life. She makes him start working on a memoir and the details of his life are insightful and humorous. He recalls serving in WWII, his two wives, his kids, his famous artist friends, and his time spent as a young Armenian art apprentice. Vonnegut weaves the tale elegantly and the conclusion of the book is very much a reflection of his skill in drawing together everything he's hinted at throughout the book and giving you something you never would have guessed.
Another excellent read :)
Show More
ending which is almost un-Vonnegutesque.This book follows Rabo Karabekian's involvement in the abstract art movement and his subsequent hum drum/ boring life that he has fallen into as an old man. When Circe Berman barges into his mansion she turns his life upside down and begins to bring him back to life. She makes him start working on a memoir and the details of his life are insightful and humorous. He recalls serving in WWII, his two wives, his kids, his famous artist friends, and his time spent as a young Armenian art apprentice. Vonnegut weaves the tale elegantly and the conclusion of the book is very much a reflection of his skill in drawing together everything he's hinted at throughout the book and giving you something you never would have guessed.
Another excellent read :)
Show Less
LibraryThing member Trotsky731
Another Vonnegut classic. Tells the story of Armenian-American, famous painter Rabo Karebekian. Karebekian is now an old man "hermited" up in his Long Island mansion until a woman comes to stay with him and livens up the place. She forces Karebekian to write his autobiography(Bluebeard). Full of
Show More
Vonneguts unique brand of satire and wisdom. Show Less
LibraryThing member dandailey
I can't believe I have not read this wonderful book before. It is one of Vonnegut's best.
Original publication date
1987-10-02
Physical description
336 p.; 5.51 inches
ISBN
038533351X / 9780385333511