Mother Night
Mother Night is a daring challenge to our moral sense. American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? In this brilliant book rife with true gallows humor, Vonnegut turns black and white into a chilling shade of gray with a verdict that will haunt us all.
Themes & atmosphere
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What you might want to know about Mother Night
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Awaiting trial in Israel for war crimes, Howard W. Campbell Jr. writes the story of his life: an American playwright in pre-war Berlin, recruited as a Nazi radio propagandist who was also coding Allied messages.
No. Mother Night (1962) is fictional. Kurt Vonnegut said the moral of the book is that we are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
Yes. A 1996 film adaptation starring Nick Nolte was released. The film is widely considered a faithful adaptation, though Vonnegut's tone is hard to translate to screen.
Mother Night was written by Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1961 by Cape.
Mother Night is 197 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Mother Night takes most readers 3 to 4 hours to finish.
Mother Night is a standalone novel by Kurt Vonnegut, not part of a series.
Mother Night is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.