2007 books

16) Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country, 2005   ( RECOMMENDED BY dyfferent )
Vonnegut's latest is probably as close as he will get to writing an autobiography, because while he remains bemused at his literary success at the same time he is self-deprecating about his own complete lack of importance in the wider scheme of things. What A Man Without a Country does not have is Vonnegut's trademark satire (the jokes herein are mostly of the grandfatherly type), but that's because he's speculating if his capacity to laugh at the world – his own defense mechanism against the periodic awfulness of life – has finally broken down. He particularly laments what has happened to his country since the ascendency of George W. Bush who (as Vonnegut sees it) is steering the US and therefore the world on a steep downhill course with his foot on the gas. This is touching, easy, sad but enjoyable, and also a plea for a resurgence in human decency towards each other. As usual he wins all his own arguments but, more than just about anyone, he deserves to.