Player Piano

"Player Piano" is Kurt Vonnegut's first novel. It was published in 1952, and was nominated for the International Fantasy Award in 1953. It was republished under the title "Utopia-14" in 1954. The story seems to hold up fairly well after 50 years, although there are a few aspects that are a bit dated. Overall I highly recommend it, as an excellent satire of our society. In discussing the book further, there are some spoilers, so only read on if you don't mind. It would be easy to categorize this book as simply one of many science fiction novels where machines threaten to destroy man's way of life, but there is much more here. This is a satire of American society. The story is set in the future, where only a few men have decent jobs, with most of the rest of the work being done by more efficient machines. There are shades of "1984" and "Brave New World" in this book, but there is more as well. Most of the book concentrates on the harm that the machines are doing to man's spirit. We have a highly polarized society, where those who have been judged to have high potential get the good jobs live in entirely different areas than the rest of the people, and they consider the ordinary people ungrateful for the good things that are being given to the common man. The hero, Paul Proteus, is pulled away from the upper society by a friend, Ed Finnerty, who also was once part of the intellectual elite, and away from the wishes of his wife and his boss. He eventually decides to quit his job, and buys an old farm where he can live simply by doing honest hard work, but before he can quit, he is setup to spy on his revolutionary friend by being fired. Once he is brought into the revolutionaries' meeting, he becomes convinced that their cause is the right one, and decides to commit to their cause. The revolution results in the destruction of almost all the machines, even those that are beneficial to man. Ultimately, we see that society will start to rebuild and use machines again, and so in many ways we are in a vicious circle.

This year is the 50th anniversary of this novel. I remember that I was working as an engineer back when I first read it. This was appropriate since most of the main characters are engineers. I remember being struck at how close Vonnegutt's predictions about society actually were. Now that I've reexamined them 20 years later, I am even more impressed. The basic premise of the story is that American industry is run by a tiny group of wealthy and powerful managers and engineers, while the vast majority of the population are stripped of their well-paying industrial jobs and forced to live as poor, powerless menials. This elite of managers and engineers live in closed, gated Orwellian communities, where they watch each other closely for the slightest hint of nonconformity or disloyalty to the system. Vonnegut shows how most managers and engineers have always had a contempt for the average American worker and have been looking for a way to replace them even before WW2. He thought that this would primarily be by automation (as opposed to simply shipping the jobs out of the country.) Vonnegut also assumed that agriculture would be totally mechanised by large corporations and the small farmer made extinct. There is also the eerie prediction that the President would be a man of low intelligence who would get elected on the basis of a "three hour television show." It would make no difference because there would be no connection between who was elected and who actually ran the country. Remenber, this was in 1952.... Oh yes, he also prdicted that no one would be able to get any job worth having without a graduate degree. I know that some people will say that this novel is dated based simply on the repeated mention of vacuum tubes (transistors were not in commercial use in 1952.) However, if you substiute "integrated circuit" or "computer chip" for every place he uses vacuum tube the obsolescence vanishes. Simularly, a modern reader may laugh at the idea of a computer large enough to fill Carlesbad caverns. Believe me, even today the Cray supercomputers and their support equipment take up quite abit of space. My only real criticism with Vonnegut's projections is that he thought that engineers would have alot more power and influence than they actually have. From my own experince MBA's, CPA's, and lawyers have much more power.

This year is the 50th anniversary of this novel. I remember that I was working as an engineer back when I first read it. This was appropriate since most of the main characters are engineers. I remember being struck at how close Vonnegut's predictions about society actually were. Now that I've reexamined them 20 years later, I am even more impressed. The basic premise of the story is that American industry is run by a tiny group of wealthy and powerful managers and engineers, while the vast majority of the population are stripped of their well-paying industrial jobs and forced to live as poor, powerless menials. This elite of managers and engineers live in closed, gated Orwellian communities, where they watch each other closely for the slightest hint of nonconformity or disloyalty to the system. Vonnegut shows how most managers and engineers have always had a contempt for the average American worker and have been looking for a way to replace them even before WW2. He thought that this would primarily be by automation (as opposed to simply shipping the jobs out of the country.) Vonnegut also assumed that agriculture would be totally mechanised by large corporations and the small farmer made extinct. There is also the eerie prediction that the President would be a man of low intelligence who would get elected on the basis of a "three hour television show." It would make no difference because there would be no connection between who was elected and who actually ran the country. Remenber, this was in 1952.... Oh yes, he also predicted that no one would be able to get any job worth having without a graduate degree. I know that some people will say that this novel is dated based simply on the repeated mention of vacuum tubes (transistors were not in commercial use in 1952.) However, if you substiute "integrated circuit" or "computer chip" for every place he uses vacuum tube the obsolescence vanishes. Simularly, a modern reader may laugh at the idea of a computer large enough to fill Carlesbad caverns. Believe me, even today the Cray supercomputers and their support equipment take up quite abit of space. My only real criticism with Vonnegut's projections is that he thought that engineers would have alot more power and influence than they actually have. From my own experience MBA's, CPA's, and lawyers have much more power.

This was the first Kurt Vonnegut book that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It was also his first book, since I was reading them chronologically. At first, it was a bit slow-going and a little confusing. But after the first 20 pages or so, you're taken into this world that is completely believable and utterly fascinating. This book was ahead of its time; describing the life of one man living in an age of machines. It's funny and poignant and absolutely wonderful. If you've never read anything by Vonnegut, I recommend starting here; it's a great way to see how his writing style has developed over the years. If you have read some of his stuff before and just haven't read this, READ IT. I tell you, it'll suck you in and you won't be able to put it down. I know that's an annoying cliche, but it's true. Kurt knows what he's doing. :)

I am only 25 and already burnt out and disgusted with the corporate world. This book really hit home with me. Vonnegut mocks and satarizes corporate life, which, after reading this book, obviously hasn't become any less discouraging or frusterating as it was 47 years ago. Player Piano is a must read for anyone who is appauled by the reality that, with few exceptions, one must completely sell out and conform in order to advance in a large corporation. Anyone who is currently mired in corporate America will recognize at least one or two of the characters and/or situations in this book as ones they themselves have had to (or continue to) deal with regularly, and therefore will feel a strong bond with Paul Proteus by book's end.