Kurt Vonnegut

***IronParrot*** · 02-26-2003, 01:38 AM

I'm sure other people here are familiar with his works, right? What do you think of his stuff in general? From a scholarly perspective, I know everybody brings up Slaughterhouse-Five all the time, and the acclaim is deserved, but his works span such a broad range. You've got the topical, pseudo-sci-fi satire on one hand, and then you have the outrageous comedy he unleashes from time to time. I can say that there are few books that got me laughing out loud as much or as hard as I did during Breakfast of Champions, for example.

Discuss.

Amandil · 02-28-2003, 03:54 AM

I got Slaughterhouse-5 for a buck in one of those bargain bins and laughed my ass off reading that book three years ago. Bizzare that a book about being in the bombing of Dresden can be hilarious. That's all I've read, and I haven't got any more pithy comments either.

francod · 03-11-2003, 06:58 PM

He is very funny, his two best are Player Piano and Mother Night. The first half of Slapstick and Deadeye Dick are great also.

***IronParrot*** · 03-20-2003, 06:30 PM

I think he's definitely one of the prime satirists of 20th-century literature, just in the way he uses the language to portray the absurd.

***gdl96*** · 11-24-2003, 11:45 PM

A friend of mine turned me on to Breakfast of Champions earlier this year, and since then, I have read Slaughterhouse 5, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Slapstick, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Galapagos.

zinnite · 11-25-2003, 12:28 AM

I've read pretty much everything of his, except for some of the stories in 'Welcome to the Monkeyhouse.' Unlike most other very prolific authors, there's a not a single novel of his that I do not love. I guess my favorites would be 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,' 'Slapstick,' Galapagos,' and 'Timequake.'

I think what I love the most about his writing is how he effortlessly writes himself into his stories, and how he can make the most mundane, ordinary, and even pathetic character into the world's greatest hero.

The Gaffer · 11-25-2003, 04:52 AM

Here's a funny, true, Vonnegut related story.

I used to work with an eminent academic doctor. In the 60s/70s, he was part of a very active group of about 5 folks doing lots of research and publishing lots of papers.

They used to take it in turns to be lead author. However, when they got to their 6th paper, they didn't know what to do so they invented a 6th author: Kilgore Trout, apparently named after a Vonnegut character.

Time went on, and every time there was a need for an extra author, Trout K would get the credit. Soon, he had a fairly impressive list of publications and was getting invited to give talks at conferences etc. They made up stationery ("from the desk of Kilgore Trout") so the myth was continued.

Anyway. ahem, apologies for that. I've read Slaughterhouse 5, but really need to get into the rest. Breakfast of Champions sounds good.

Elfhelm · 12-08-2003, 07:39 PM

There is another Trout tale. Phillip Jose Farmer is a writer who is a little overboard in his hero-worship. He wrote Venus on a Halfshell and signed it Kilgore Trout and sent it to KV along with a request for permission to publish it. Permission was granted. I lost my copy and I am not sure if it can still be purchased. But I can promise you, if you find it, that you will laugh. But be forewarned, it is everything you'd expect from Trout, so some people should just not open it.

brownjenkins · 12-11-2003, 11:10 AM

vonnegut's one of my favorites... two other books of his i like and didn't see mentioned above:

Cat's Cradle (one of my all-time favorite books)

Bluebeard (more story than wit, as compared with his other books)

webwizard333 · 01-30-2004, 01:23 PM

I know most people seem to prefer Slaughterhouse 5 but personally I enjoyed Mother Night much more. I just found it more interesting in the moral dilemma of the protagonist over his radio broadcasts for Nazi Germany, and whether or not what he did was right.

I have noticed however a tendancy to look down on his work for beign too popular (similar to some critics' issue with Stephen King). My Norton Anthology for my English class, seems to classify him as a middle of the road author.

02-26-2003, 01:38 AM	#1
*IronParrot* Fowl Administrator Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Calgary or Edmonton, Canada Posts: 53,420	Kurt Vonnegut I'm sure other people here are familiar with his works, right? What do you think of his stuff in general? From a scholarly perspective, I know everybody brings up Slaughterhouse-Five all the time, and the acclaim is deserved, but his works span such a broad range. You've got the topical, pseudo-sci-fi satire on one hand, and then you have the outrageous comedy he unleashes from time to time. I can say that there are few books that got me laughing out loud as much or as hard as I did during Breakfast of Champions, for example. Discuss. __________________ All of IronParrot's posts are guaranteed to be 100% intelligent and/or sarcastic, comprising no genetically modified content and tested on no cute furry little animals unless the SPCA is looking elsewhere. If you observe a failure to uphold this warranty, please contact a forum administrator immediately to receive a full refund on your Entmoot registration. Blog: Nick's Café Canadien

02-28-2003, 03:54 AM	#2
Amandil Guy-who-should-come-here-more-often Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Alberta, in spirit -- Vlaanderen, in body (Canada? Never heard of it!) Posts: 120	I got Slaughterhouse-5 for a buck in one of those bargain bins and laughed my ass off reading that book three years ago. Bizzare that a book about being in the bombing of Dresden can be hilarious. That's all I've read, and I haven't got any more pithy comments either. __________________ Amandil Mithadan "Why would you want to tamper with anything Tolkien did?" --Ralph Bashki "Seeking self, I find nothing but myself, but in this I drink the cup of gall I really am. I want everything, and I may have everything, but I have nothing except what I have. What I have I know is not what will fulfill me, and I know this in the bitterness of satisfied desire. Everything I have is still not enough, and in getting everything I have, I have not myself, indeed what I have may have twisted what I am and might be into an image of my own possessions. I will to possess, but I end up possessed by what I possess." -- William Desmond (Ethics and the Between, p. 209-210)

03-11-2003, 06:58 PM	#3
francod Enting Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: on the goblin king's throne Posts: 62	vonnegut He is very funny, his two best are Player Piano and Mother Night. The first half of Slapstick and Deadeye Dick are great also. __________________ Sauron is deadest guy in all of deadonia.

03-20-2003, 06:30 PM	#4
*IronParrot* Fowl Administrator Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Calgary or Edmonton, Canada Posts: 53,420	I think he's definitely one of the prime satirists of 20th-century literature, just in the way he uses the language to portray the absurd. __________________ All of IronParrot's posts are guaranteed to be 100% intelligent and/or sarcastic, comprising no genetically modified content and tested on no cute furry little animals unless the SPCA is looking elsewhere. If you observe a failure to uphold this warranty, please contact a forum administrator immediately to receive a full refund on your Entmoot registration. Blog: Nick's Café Canadien

11-25-2003, 12:28 AM	#6
zinnite Elven Warrior Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Lawrence, Kansas, USA Posts: 195	I've read pretty much everything of his, except for some of the stories in 'Welcome to the Monkeyhouse.' Unlike most other very prolific authors, there's a not a single novel of his that I do not love. I guess my favorites would be 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,' 'Slapstick,' Galapagos,' and 'Timequake.' I think what I love the most about his writing is how he effortlessly writes himself into his stories, and how he can make the most mundane, ordinary, and even pathetic character into the world's greatest hero. __________________ A citizen runs to the fire department yelling that he's spotted a roaring blaze from his car. "WHERE IS IT?" the fire department asks, pen ready. "It rises like some brooding , glaring trail of cosmic fury from- " "WHERE? WHERE?" "Oh. Well, it blazes up from a crimson-sheathed visage brooding darkly above the haunted towers of impotent indignity which, like melons hovering unhappily over lifetimes of empty meaning which-" "THE ADDRESS!" "Oh. Oh, I didn't notice. But look for a brooding, glaring trail of cosmic fury rising from a crimson-sheathed visage-" They lead him back to his car, and send him on. -- Philip K. Dick "Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." -- Diderot

11-24-2003, 11:45 PM	#5
*gdl96* the greg the admin Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: NJ Posts: 2,101	A friend of mine turned me on to Breakfast of Champions earlier this year, and since then, I have read Slaughterhouse 5, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Slapstick, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Galapagos.

11-25-2003, 04:52 AM	#7
The Gaffer Elf Lord Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: In me taters Posts: 3,288	Here's a funny, true, Vonnegut related story. I used to work with an eminent academic doctor. In the 60s/70s, he was part of a very active group of about 5 folks doing lots of research and publishing lots of papers. They used to take it in turns to be lead author. However, when they got to their 6th paper, they didn't know what to do so they invented a 6th author: Kilgore Trout, apparently named after a Vonnegut character. Time went on, and every time there was a need for an extra author, Trout K would get the credit. Soon, he had a fairly impressive list of publications and was getting invited to give talks at conferences etc. They made up stationery ("from the desk of Kilgore Trout") so the myth was continued. Anyway. ahem, apologies for that. I've read Slaughterhouse 5, but really need to get into the rest. Breakfast of Champions sounds good.

12-08-2003, 07:39 PM	#8
Elfhelm Marshal of the Eastmark Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 1,412	There is another Trout tale. Phillip Jose Farmer is a writer who is a little overboard in his hero-worship. He wrote Venus on a Halfshell and signed it Kilgore Trout and sent it to KV along with a request for permission to publish it. Permission was granted. I lost my copy and I am not sure if it can still be purchased. But I can promise you, if you find it, that you will laugh. But be forewarned, it is everything you'd expect from Trout, so some people should just not open it. __________________ cya

12-11-2003, 11:10 AM	#9
brownjenkins Advocatus Diaboli Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Reality Posts: 3,767	vonnegut's one of my favorites... two other books of his i like and didn't see mentioned above: Cat's Cradle (one of my all-time favorite books) Bluebeard (more story than wit, as compared with his other books)

01-30-2004, 01:23 PM	#10
webwizard333 Elf Lord Join Date: May 2001 Location: myob Posts: 587	I know most people seem to prefer Slaughterhouse 5 but personally I enjoyed Mother Night much more. I just found it more interesting in the moral dilemma of the protagonist over his radio broadcasts for Nazi Germany, and whether or not what he did was right. I have noticed however a tendancy to look down on his work for beign too popular (similar to some critics' issue with Stephen King). My Norton Anthology for my English class, seems to classify him as a middle of the road author. __________________ Boo!

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