Bluebeard

This is one of the most... different novels by Kurt Vonnegut that I have ever read. For one the story is told in a linear format and doesn't jump all over the place. He tells a traditional story with, get this, a surprise at the end, a surprise that he doesn't ruin for you! Plus it has a happy ending which is almost un-Vonnegutesque.

This book follows Rabo Karabekian's involvement in the abstract art movement and his subsequent hum drum/ boring life that he has fallen into as an old man. When Circe Berman barges into his mansion she turns his life upside down and begins to bring him back to life. She makes him start working on a memoir and the details of his life are insightful and humorous. He recalls serving in WWII, his two wives, his kids, his famous artist friends, and his time spent as a young Armenian art apprentice. Vonnegut weaves the tale elegantly and the conclusion of the book is very much a reflection of his skill in drawing together everything he's hinted at throughout the book and giving you something you never would have guessed.

Another excellent read :)