Player Piano

By Keith Fisher

Before Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007, He left the world a long list of books that make the reader think. He left words like these from his last book.

When the last living thing has died, on account of us. How poetical it would be if Earth could say in a voice floating up, perhaps from the floor of the Grand Canyon, “It is done. People did not like it here.”

Vonnegut earned the title of Author, by writing books and short stories that appealed to the counter culture of the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Now that those generations have grown up, his books are classic.

In looking over the titles, some of which I haven’t seen for years, I wondered which one should I choose? After consideration, I chose, Player Piano, because it speaks to an interesting time in history, a time when society worried about being replaced by computers.

Imagine that. We were paranoid about computers. In the story, we are brought into the world of a plant manager who, being concerned about his profitability, eliminated his employees, replacing them with computers. He soon discovered efficiency is not what he expected.

Player Piano, by Kurt Vonnegut is a good read. The story will leave you thinking about many aspects of your life. If you’re old enough to remember, The Twilight Zone, from television, You might recall an episode similar to the plot of this book.

Read Player Piano, if you haven’t already. Then, if you’re brave, you could venture into, Slaughterhouse Five, Cat’s Cradle or even, Breakfast of Champions. Be warned, however, there are some language issues.