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Galápagos (book)

The novel Galápagos is Kurt Vonnegut's look at evolution. It was first published in 1985 and it still in print since a paperback edition was issued in New York by Dell Publishing in 1999 with ISBN 0385333870

Galápagos is the story of a small band of mismatched humans who get shipwrecked on the island of Santa Rosalía in the Galápagos Islands after a global financial crisis has crippled the world's economy. Shortly after a disease renders all humans on earth infertile, with the exception of the people on Santa Rosalía, making them the last specimens of the human race. They eventually evolve into a race resembling seals.

The story is told from a future perspective, a million years after the events, by Leon Trout's ghost, who has been watching over humans for the last million years. Leon Trout is the son of Vonnegut's recurring Kilgore Trout character. The novel is mostly a satire of evolution, and is one of Vonnegut's later books.

From a literary perspective, this book can be maddening to read, as the story is fragmented, and told out-of sequence. Major events are rarely seen directly, but are rather alluded to and mentioned in reference to other events. In this way, the focus of the reader remains on the characters. The reader is not permitted to become carried away in the storyline itself.

Last updated: 07-15-2005 06:50:05
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