So it goes...

Now Playing: NPR's Morning Edition

You beat me to it, Linn. I don't think much has to be said on his impact on the literary world in the 20th century. My personal favorite remains The Sirens of Titan.

I read Kurt Vonnegut in the '70s and '80s, and hadn't read him since. In my memory, he was very much a product of his time. Despite its WWII setting, I always thought that "Slaughterhouse 5" was really about Vietnam.

That said, I have an intelligent 14 year old who has just burned through 12 Vonnegut books in the last 6 months, and he has loved them. I just re-read "Cat's Cradle" and thought it was brilliant all over again.

Babies have rabies. Yes, yes.

quote:

Originally posted by kendocubano:
That said, I have an intelligent 14 year old who has just burned through 12 Vonnegut books in the last 6 months, and he has loved them.

That's about the age I started reading him as well.

I don't think I have ever posted here but Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s death is something that must be noted. I am still pretty young, so I barely started reading his works about six years ago when I was around fifteen and he was always one of my favorite novelists/authors. He shaped how 20th century literature was and his works are amongst the best. My personal favorites were Cat's Cradle and Breakfast for Champions. I remember lending my girlfriend my copy of Cat's Cradle and she read that thing in one day, she liked it that much. He truly was a visionary unlike any other and I am deeply saddened by the announcement of his passing.

I'm an avid reader because of Kurt Vonnegut. I was amazed at how easy to read his novels were, but how much profound meaning I could get out of them. It seemed every novel he wrote spoke to me on some personal level. He also inspired me to start writing. He is and always will be my favorite writer.

He'll be missed.

I can recall visiting Vonnegut's Hardware Store in his Indianapolis home town before really knowing who Kurt Vonnegut was. The Vonnegut novels were a major influence during my teen years, and even after I'd re-read them. He'll definitely be missed.

As much as I am saddened by Kurt Vonnegut's death I think he was ready to go. He made that pretty clear in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. He's been a personal hero of mine both as a writer and as a human being.

Very clever, wise; and inventive with a blank white page, as evidenced by his cute little drawings in Breakfast of Champions.

He wrote serious fiction in a popular form, and no higher praise can be given, as was once written of P.K. Dick.

Bye you ol' goat!

I thought that this was a lovely tribute to the man, and captured my relationship to his work perfectly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/opinion/13fri4.html

My favorite of his is Mother Night, good read.

The last two novels that remain to be read for me are Mother Night (plot doesn't really sound interesting) and Palm Sunday (can't find it anywhere!?!?). My favorite is Galapagos.

quote:

Originally posted by Sinister:
The last two novels that remain to be read for me are Mother Night

In terms of plot, I think Mother Night is one of the tightest Vonnegut books. It's probably more straightforward than Slaughterhouse Five or Breakfast of Champions, but it still has all the elements of a classic Vonnegut novel.

I cant begin to describe how saddened i was was Vonnegut fianlly passed this year. He has been my favorite author, by far, for years now. I read reakfast of Champions when i was 17 and have been hooked ever since. I read slapstick monthly.
i was lucky enough to see him speak at VMI a few years ago. he was captivationg. though i thought he was going to die in the middle of his speech.

good bye, blue monday.