Vonnegut

[poliphilo]

When I was a youngster I never read the writers that were cults. I never read Kerouac, I never read Bukowski, I never read Ian Fleming, I never read Joseph Heller. It was partly because I was a snob. But also because I figured those guys were in the air. All you had to do was open the Sunday Times Colour Supplement, inhale deeply and you'd find you knew all you needed to know about 'em and then some.

In the main I don't regret it. In the time I saved by not reading On The Road and Casino Royale I was reading Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton and other long dead dudes and generally making myself interestingly eccentric and unfit for life in the late 20th century- and why not?  It was a high perch and I had it to myself.

But there's one cult writer of my youth I'm regretting not having encountered earlier. I've been reading the obits and the interviews and the edited highlights and finding out what everyone else has known for decades- that Kurt Vonnegut was really cool. Damn! Why did I cheat myself of this purling stream of righteous indignation and furious humour?

So, Amazon, here I come! It seems a bit cheap not to read a man until he's dead but I don't think he starved for lack of my custom....

Comments

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

I'm feeling exactly the same (not about reading Ian Fleming); he's been on my To Read list for a long time. After his death I learn that his views on humans and religion match mine and that he was a big fan of Isaac Asimov. That's good enough for me.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I have this prejudice about big American novelists- that they write big indigestible books and I can't be bothered- but clearly Vonnegut wasn't a bit like that.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

You may be pleasantly surprised at Vonnegut. He can turn a mean phrase. He was also a good human.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've ordered three of his books and can't wait to get stuck in.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Which ones did you order?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Slaughterhouse 5
Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons
A man Without A Country.

This seemed like a representative sampling...

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

i'm a big fan of Mother Night, you should check that out if you get a chance, it's very funny, in an absurd sort of way.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I nearly bought that one. I like the title. I reckon it'll be next on the list.

[saare-snowqueen.livejournal.com]

I didn't read The Master and Marguerita' until fairly recently and I would recommend that you also lower the bar for that - It was absolutely fascinating.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's been my experience that books tend to come along just when you need them. TMAM has been on my wish-list for a while. Maybe the time is ripe....

[solar-diablo.livejournal.com]

Bulgakov...now that guy could write.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

"furious humor" is an excellent description of Vonnegut.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's what I want from a writer in this age of quite astonishing stupidity.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

Yeah. This is what I also got from Molly Ivins (who died earlier this year). I don't see any replacements coming up, unfortunately.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Oh, they'll be along.

In this, at least, I'm an optimist.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I haven't read a lot of cult authors but I have read Cat in the Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut. I enjoyed both.

Also, with Vonnegut's death, there's bound to be an upsurge in the popularity of his books. Isn't that the way the world works?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I guess so. Dying can be a really smart career move.

[solar-diablo.livejournal.com]

Never understood the fascination with Kerouac, Bukowski, or Vonnegut, really.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I guess they hit a nerve.

[red-girl-42.livejournal.com]

My favorites by Vonnegut are some of his lesser-known books, actually. Sirens of Titan and Galapagos especially.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Those are more like straight sci-fi, right?

[red-girl-42.livejournal.com]

Sirens of Titan was. Galapagos was futuristic, but I don't know if I'd call it sci-fi.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I find it hard to like the writers I was force fed at school and university. I respect Orwell, Hemingway and co but I don't love them.

Rose Macaulay I approached by a different route. I think she's wonderful.

[senordildo.livejournal.com]

Casino Royale is actually a pretty quick read--you could zoom through it in two or three hours. It's also worthwhile to read it before seeing the film, because it's slightly better. The book also contains a discussion on the nature of evil that might have held Chesterton's interest. Additionally, Fleming was an erratic stylist but an interesting one, and now that his books have passed the half century mark they also have historical interest.

As for Vonnegut, I read Slaughterhouse Five in high school but it didn't whet my appetite. Perhaps later in life...at the moment I'm currently on a Raymond Queneau binge.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'll read Fleming one of these days. I do find him interesting.

[manfalling.livejournal.com]

I recently went through a bit of a Vonnegut fad. I went through one ages ago too, when I first discovered him, and did Breakfast of Champions, Cats Cradle, Galapagos, Slaughterhouse 5, and maybe some others. The ones I read recently were TimeQuake, something else, and a man without a country.

Now- he's kind of a gimmicky writer. Pictures of stuff- ie- 'here is a picture of a stapler. Weird time riffs. Writing himself into his books. Having aliens. Stretching images out across whole books. Using gimmick words/phrases such as- 'Hi ho' repeatedly.

But he's also super-imaginative and has heart. I loved the earlier stories. But recently- with Timequake and Man without a country- I just got a bit sick of him. Seemed like the imaginative stuff, and even the 'story' stuff, had been discarded, and he was just riffing on stuff he'd done already and chocking it out with gimmicks. I felt over-stuffed when it came to Man without a country and actually gave up.

Maybe I'll go back to it. Maybe I won't, though. The earlier stories felt vital. The later ones- less so. Maybe that's just old age for you.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

All writers repeat themselves. Some get better at doing what they do, others go stale.

I'm hoping my Vonnegut books will arrive today. I'm impatient to get stuck in....