1953 first novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
A highly satirical picture of the future. He paints a world where production is so automated that only people with Master's degrees or better actually work. Everyone else is on welfare.
Something of a dystopia, this book deals with the issues of automation displacing workers, rendering them obsolete and leaving them with no role to play in society. In a world where everything is provided, there exists little challenge and the characters end up questioning their own value. It also deals with the fallacy of making work, how people use their free time and with privacy issues.
Some of his other novels are:
Sources:
Vonnegut, Kurt "Player Piano", Delta Paperbacks, 1952
Last updated 05.21.03