Mother Night

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1961, looks at how we view reality. What we see is not what always the truth, no matter how real it appears. And the books looks at what evil things can do to a man and his beliefs.

Howard Campbell Jr. is the main character of the novel. He is an American by birth, but moved to Germany before Hitler gained power. He does a lot of evil things while serving Hitler, but is he really serving Hitler or someone else?

The book is told through the eyes of Mr. Campbell, and  Mr. Campbell is a sympathetic character; even though he is an ex-Nazi propagandist.

The book also examines what people feel about themselves when under the control of a brutal regime. Mr. Campbell at times searches for answers, and tries to deny his past. Reality is something that Mr. Campbell can't seem to accept, but he does learn that the old self is still part of the new self, and that fact doesn't change no matter how much he wishes it would change.

The ending of the book doesn't disappoint.