Jailbird: A Novel

[Kurt Vonnegut] has never been more satirically on-target… . Nothing is spared. -People

Jailbird takes us into a fractured and comic, pure Vonnegut world of high crimes and misdemeanors in government-and in the heart. This wry tale follows bumbling bureaucrat Walter F. Starbuck from Harvard to the Nixon White House to the penitentiary as Watergate’s least known co-conspirator. But the humor turns dark when Vonnegut shines his spotlight on the cold hearts and calculated greed of the mighty, giving a razor-sharp edge to an unforgettable portrait of power and politics in our times.

Praise for Jailbird

[Vonnegut] is our strongest writer … the most stubbornly imaginative. -John Irving

A gem … a mature, imaginative novel-possibly the best he has written … Jailbird is a guided tour de force of America. Take it! -Playboy

A profoundly humane comedy … Jailbird definitely mounts up on angelic wings-in its speed, in its sparkle, and in its high-flying intent. -Chicago Tribune Book World

Joyously inventive … gleams with the loony magic Vonnegut alone can achieve. -Cosmopolitan

Vonnegut is our great apocalyptic writer, the closest thing we’ve had to a prophet since … Lenny Bruce. -Chicago Sun-Times

Vonnegut at his impressive best… . His imaginative leaps alone … are worth the price of admission… . His far-reaching metaphysical and cultural concerns … are ultimately serious and worth our contemplation. -The Washington Post