Erie Reader Book Club: August 2024 Selection
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine by Kurt Vonnegut
SUNDAY, AUG. 25
The Erie Reader Book club will meet to discuss their August selection of God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut, which corresponds with the Erie Gives issue. The correlation of this book to Erie Gives Day centers around philanthropy – in Vonnegut's book, which tells the story of wealthy heir Eliot Rosewater, philanthropic motivations backfire due to an inherent darkness in the main character. The tale of Mr. Rosewater shines a satirical light on the dark side of philanthropy and the book club will discuss a number of themes from the book including generational wealth and privilege, the wealth gap, and the myriad of motivations behind charitable giving.
This book is a great foray into the mind of Kurt Vonnegut as it contains a number of characters that appear throughout Vonnegut's body of work including Eliot Rosewater, his father, and the fictional writer Kilgore Trout. Within God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Vonnegut's wit, dark, dry humor, and signature brand of chaos points to the flaws of modern society and how we haphazardly attempt to remedy them.
Do one's positive intentions matter if the result is detrimental to those who would otherwise stand to benefit? Does a satirical book written in 1965 still address issues we're facing today? Are there parallels between the Rosewater Foundation and today's philanthropic organizations?
Join us as we discuss this classic book – the Erie Reader book club is open to all who would like to read, join, and discuss, no previous participation/involvement is needed. Copies of the book are available to purchase at Werner Books & Coffee.
1 p.m. // Werner Books & Coffee, 3608 Liberty St. // Book Club is free to join, cost of book not included. // For more information visit: wernerbooks.com
