Obviously, Vonnegut wrote this novel a long time ago. Roughly 40 years ago, actually. However, I think that it has staying power and that contemporary people should read it. Thus, I am writing a review of it from a contemporary perspective.
"Jailbird" is essentially the memoir of the central character, Walter F. Starbuck. Now an elderly man, he details his life from his adolescence, his adulthood, the first few days of his freedom from jail, and his subsequent recidivism. He went to jail initially because of his involvement with the Watergate scandal, which was so minuscule that no one recognizes that he is a part of it.
To be perfectly honest, the purely Walter parts are a bit boring. Walter is a capitalistic dude who usually does things to further his station in life. For example, he cheats on both communism and a passionate woman with a wealthy girl. He and the girl do not click sexually, but she improves his station in life merely by existing.
In fact, his relationship to three out of the “four women he ever truly loved” is the most interesting part of the book. They are more vibrant and intelligent than he is. While Walter leads a life of some interest, he lives largely without imagination. His women, however, are singular.
His first girlfriend, Sarah, has a scandalous, intelligent sense of humor and is not afraid to take the steps to get what she wants. Together, they do a slightly dirty bit about a woman and a waiter in a restaurant. She later leaves him for Leland Clewes, someone with whom she has a sexual spark and can build a life.
Mary Kathleen, the communist he leaves for Sarah, is basically a hurricane of passion, intelligence, and idealism. She begins as a poor girl whose mother has died from radium poisoning thanks to capitalism. She is deeply passionate and tries to take Walter along for the ride, but he ultimately chooses capitalism. When she meets him again, years later, she is the rich widow of a business owner. She dies later that day and tells Walter to release her will, which will give her company back to the American people. He does not do this until he is forced to by circumstances.
Ruth, his wife, survives a concentration camp, can speak several languages, and loves him even though he does not give her the life he promised. He finds her dressed as a boy, wandering Europe. She wants to be free to roam about the world as she pleases. They compromise by getting a house with a flowering crab apple tree out front. Together they have a son who grows up to hate Walter with a burning passion and write book reviews for the “New York Times.”
Quite frankly, I would happily read a separate book about each of them, including his mother, the Lithuanian immigrant who laughs only when she cannot help herself. Walter does not go into much detail about his relationship with her, but it is still infinitely more interesting than Walter’s life.
Overall, I like "Jailbird." It is typically Vonnegut in that it criticizes many aspects of American culture, including capitalism, the red scare, and politics. I think that the most illustrative part of this book to that point is the description of Kilgore Trout’s story “Asleep at the Switch.” In it, humans must visit auditors before they can enter heaven so that they can learn why it is their own fault that they were poor, rather than God’s. Einstein figures out that the auditors are lying as he asks God why they are there. God, of course, sends an archangel to yell at Einstein and threaten to take his precious fiddle away if he does not shut up. Essentially, the government does not want to take the blame for the poor economy, so they blame the people. When educated individuals complain, officials send lawyers and other such attack dogs to shut them up. It’s a brilliant metaphor.
In other words, read the book. It is good.
