I've discovered it's fun to circle back to our youth and explore things we enjoyed then in greater depth. Like re-watching old TV shows or reading books by favorite authors.
When I was a teenager I read a few Kurt Vonnegut novels. He was very popular then. I liked "Cat's Cradle", "Slaughterhouse Five" and a few others. But Vonnegut was exceptionally prolific: he wrote fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays and five non-fiction books. There's a lot in his literary oeuvre I haven't touched.
I'm heading over there now. Any suggestions? Did you like any of his books?
The words that spring to mind when anyone mentions him are: "We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different." 🙂
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Thanks.
DeleteI'm sure there's a word in some language for thinking of something and then seeing it everywhere. I was just thinking about Vonnegut for some reason, then Slaughterhouse five was mentioned in a tv show I was watching, then a Vonnegut quote was in something I was reading (we are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.) And the line hit me quite profoundly I took a picture of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd your post today! It's been since high school since I've read anything by him. Maybe this means it's time to pick up some books.
The quotation is from "Mother Night."
DeleteThere are several reasons for Kurt to be in the Zeitgeist right now, beyond the skill and depth of his writing. Among major topics he addressed were war (Iran), Nazis (Trump) and human absurdity/cruelty (look around).
Hey, let's be reading buddies! I'm tackling one of early his novels next: "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" (1965).
Let me know your thoughts! I'm midway through a series right now, but my To Be Read pile is ever growing.
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