The Sirens of TitanThe Sirens of Titan
Score Classic
What it's about
Malachi Constant is the richest, luckiest man in America. Winston Niles Rumfoord is a wealthy explorer who flew his spaceship into a cosmic anomaly and now exists as a wave, appearing on Earth only now and then, able to see the future. Rumfoord tells Malachi he will travel to Mars, Mercury and Titan, and have a child with Rumfoord's wife. Malachi tries to avoid it.
Why it's worth reading
It was voted onto PBS's Great American Read. It's Vonnegut's funniest and most heartbreaking early novel, a satire about free will and the meaning of life.
You'll love it if you liked
Slaughterhouse-Five
Breakfast of Champions
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyGood to know
It's absurd and episodic, and its ending reveals why human history happened, in a very Vonnegut way.
By the numbers
- Readers71 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller47 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #103 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #327 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1058 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous, Thought-provoking
More by Kurt Vonnegut
Breakfast of Champions
Cat's Cradle
Slapstick
JailbirdIf you like this, read next
The Lord of the Rings
Foundation
Ficciones
Rendezvous with Rama
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Gods ThemselvesExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Sirens of Titan worth reading?
Yes. It was voted onto PBS's Great American Read. It ranks #1,058 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 72.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Sirens of Titan about?
Malachi Constant is the richest, luckiest man in America. Winston Niles Rumfoord is a wealthy explorer who flew his spaceship into a cosmic anomaly and now exists as a wave, appearing on Earth only now and then, able to see the future. Rumfoord tells Malachi he will travel to Mars, Mercury and Titan, and have a child with Rumfoord's wife. Malachi tries to avoid it.
How long does it take to read The Sirens of Titan?
About 4 hours (152 pages), or about 8 days at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Sirens of Titan?
If you liked it, try Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.