Kurt Vonnegut’s post apocalyptic novel Galápagos provides a sombre commentary on the human state under the guise of dry-wit. Vonnegut, narrating the story as a ghost who died during the construction of the ship claims that our big brains led to the fall of humankind as we know it. The only survivors were a motley bunch which landed on the Galapagos islands in the aforementioned. Correcting its erroneous ways, natural selection dictated that the survival of the human race was best continued with smaller, less problematic brains.
From a literary standpoint, the book exhibits Vonnegut’s excellence and confidence. His narrative threads between the future (which is a million years hence) and the present-day. Curiously, Vonnegut does not feel the need to keep the reader in suspense. He is forthright about the imminent deaths of various characters, to the point of being nonchalant. The subtle commentary about the interconnected ness of human society, the futility of war and the dangers of a mind left unchallenged is more effective than unexpected plot twists at keeping the reader hooked.
Galápagos is one of those books which can be read again and again. Each time being a different experience depending on what the reader chooses to focus on - the dry wit, the price that humans pay for their big brains or the possibility of evolution replacing our arms with flippers. The books promises a worthwhile and different story for every time that it is read. Therein lies its greatest strength.
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