Never read a book about a crazy when yourself is slipping from sane.

But if you do. . . . . Then you should always ask yourself, "Where these 'I'm going crazy' feelings showing themselves before I started reading this book, or after I had begun?"

God Bless You Mr. Rosewater is a wonderful tale about a wonderful person Eliot Rosewater. Eliot is the inheritor of a grand fortune, or more specifically he's made President of the Rosewater Foundation. Which was created to keep the family money in the family and out of the tax collector's hands. The sum is equivilent to $10,000 a day including Sundays. Eliot is free to do with this money as he wishes. The only way to get this money away from Eliot is to have him proven insane. Many, including his father, consider Eliot insane partly because he sets up his so-called Rosewater Foundation. The foundation is located in a town in Indiana that has been abandoned by all but the lowest members of society. Eliot listens to their problems and prescribes his own specials remidies, most often money. For example if someone wants to commit suicide he'd ask them how much it would cost for them to keep on living for another week.

Now that you have a brief intro I'll do what one should always do with a Kurt Vonnegut book, shamelessly quote my favorite parts.

"Eliot hung up. The telephone rang immediately. 'This is the Rosewater foundation. How can we help you?' 'You might start by getting a haircut and anew suit,' said a man.

'What?'

'Eliot--'

'Yes--?'

'You don't even recognize my voice?'

'I--I'm sorry--I--'

'It's your Dad!' (This part edited for content)

'Gee, Father!' said Eliot, lyrical with love, surprise and pleasure. 'How nice to hear your voice.'

'You didn't even recognize it.'

'Sorry. You know--the calls just pour in.'

'they do, eh?'

'You know that.'

'I'm afraid I do.'

'Gee--how are you, anyway?'

'Fine!' said the Senator with brisk sarcasm. 'Couldn't be better!'

'I'm so glad to hear that.'

The Senator cursed.

'What's the matter, Father?'

'Don't talk to me as though I were some drunk! Some pimp! Some moronic washerwoman!'

'What did I say?'

'Your whole damn tone!'

'Sorry.'

'I can sense your getting ready to tell me to take an aspirin in a glass of wine. Don't talk down to me!' "

........Next Page........

"'Eliot--'

'Sir--?'

'I want you to take a good look at yourself.'

Dutifully, Eliot looked himself over as best he could without a mirror. 'I'm looking.'

'Now ask yourself, "Is this a dream? How did I ever get into such a disreputable condition?"'

Again dutifully, and without a trace of whimsicality, Elio said to himself out loud, "Is this a dream? How did I ever get into such a disreputable condition?"'

. . . . . .

"FH" stood for "Fly Hunt." People often felt a desperate need to do something nice for Eliot. He would ask them to come at a specific time in order to rid his office of flies. During the fly season, this was a Augean task, for Eliot had no screens on his windows, and his office, moreover, was connected directly to the foul kitchen of the lunchroom below by means of a greasy hot-air register in the floor.
So the fly hunts were actually rituals, and were ritualized to such an extent that conventional flyswatter were not used, and men and women hunted flies in very different ways. The men used rubber bands, and the women used tumblers of lukewarm water and soapsuds."
So as you can see God Bless You Mr. Rosewater is a zainy satire of fun absudities!