Within this novel's meandering plot lies some of Vonnegut's best socioeconomic commentary. Moreover, the endless parade of ridiculous characters ultimately come together to paint a scarily accurate picture of America.

One thing Vonnegut is brilliant at is pointing out the absurdity of established and unquestioned cultural 'norms' and constructs. With "Mr. Rosewater" he tackles the insanity of capitalism and a society that only values people in terms of how they are able to be productive. He denounces money as a dehumanizing agent, as it creates barriers between perceived realities of individuals from different economic classes.

This novel also marks Kilgore Trout's grand debut! To drive home Vonnegut's underlying thesis, Trout poignantly explains to the titular Mr. Rosewater, "Americans have long been taught to hate all people who will not or cannot work, to hate even themselves for that. We can thank the vanished frontier for that piece of common-sense cruelty. The time is coming, if it isn't here now, when it will no longer be common sense. It will simply be cruel." (184).

Now writing this review at a time when neoliberalism reigns supreme at the international stage, and a bigoted President heartily endorsed by the alt-right and neo-Nazis sits in the White House, it is hard to embrace Trout's optimistic outlook for future change. However, this still did not make Kilgore Trout's exclamations any less truthful or liberating to read.

Vonnegut also points how the social mechanism of inheritance prevents capitalism from functioning as a true meritocracy. There exist many rich people who are inherently lazy and mediocre but are deemed 'great' for simply having the money that their genius ancestors worked to earn. This perplexing situation lies at the heart of Mr. Rosewater's internal conflict. His resultant guilt leads him to do some odd, if well-intended, actions that deem him insane.

Also interesting, is Vonnegut's exploration with how perceived sanity is very reliant on whether or not a person conforms to societal norms. As Vonnegut's raison d'etre is to poke fun at social conventions, his characters almost always range from eccentric to off the wall bonkers. In "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," because people are so beholden to the social etiquette dictated by capitalism, Eliot's decision to care for people lacking obvious purposes or functions is deemed insane. Meanwhile, Senator Rosewater who is horrified by the very notion of pubic hair, is a public figure representative of sober sanity. Now that's ridiculous.

Overall, this was a great read.