Kurt Vonnegut - Mother Night

Hi readers,

A friend of mine suggested I should write about the books I read. So It'll be something new on this blog. I must warn you though I'm not an erudite expert at analysing novels like my friend at dead end follies. You won't find reviews here. Only thoughts about philosophical ideas and/or images I can take out of the novels I read. So I'll start out with Mother Night. 

The story takes place during and after WWII. Howard J. Campbell is an american making a living as a play writer in Germany. He's hired by the Nazi party to write and broadcast on the radio Nazi propaghanda in english for the world to hear. He's also hired by a US Army corporal to act as a spy, coding war information in his broadcasts. Campbell narrates his life before going to trial for war crimes for which is not guilty since he was helping both sides. 

I think Vonnegut's goal, added to many ironic images and situations, was to give the reader a hard time choosing sides. Where right can be wrong and wrong can be right. I found myself, through Campbell's love for Helga, daughter of a notorious police chief, and his friendship with Kraft, a russian spy and Dr Jones, an extremist nazi american, rooting for the "bad" side. Because Vonnegut turns what is known to be the most inhuman ideas of the 20th century into the most human behaviors and feeling between the characters that share these ideas. Campbell, however, never believed what he was saying. It was a job, in the country he was living in, with the girl he loved. Yet, what he said, about jews, brought him to meet people that truly share nazis idea and they turned out to be the only persons he could trust and share feelings and compassion. 

The point Vonnegut tries to make is moraly good or evil don't necessary make good or evil persons.and are not always driven by good or evil motives. In fact, I often say that good and evil doesn't exist at all and I think Mother Night draws the line of this idea. This fiction novel is supposed to be a moral challenge. I didn't see it this way. Though it's moraly confusing to be attached to the "bad" guys in history, to a point where the reader is dragged into believing in their humanity, it's not enough for me to propose it's a moral challenge. It might be for most readers, but it was't for me. I think it's only an exemple that good and evil are perspectives and not characteristics.     

I won't spoil the end of the books for those who wants to read it. But I need to mention it's surprisingly in contradiction with everything Vonnegut makes us think about Campbell's innocence and I still don't understand why Vonnegut ended his story the way he did.