Kurt Vonnegut dies aged 84

[St John the Blasphemist]

The best Bruce Willis (and Nick Nolte) movie I ever saw was Breakfast Of Champions.

I'm embarrassed to have lived this long. It's in terrible taste (laughs). You know I had a fire several years ago, and it would have been so shapely if I'd died in the fire. But here I am, and of course I'm suing the cigarette company because on the package they promised to kill me, and here I am.

Radio transcript here.

St John the Blasphemist
Saint of Car Salespeople

[EarthRise]

So it goes.

[Amerigo]

A sad day.

Wilson and now him - the ending of an era.

[ken worley]

I learned a lot growing up from his books.
Especially how to not take the surface or "given" explanation for everything.

One of my favorite Vonnegutt writings (which I can't seem to locate anywhere online) was the text of a speech he gave to an association of psychiatric professionals.

It was a self-congratulatory convention, and they had paid for a vonnegutt speech to honor themselves.

Vonnegut delivered a speech that featured a fictional account of a young nazi concentration camp guard being "cured" by his shrink of depression and angst. It featured the punchline, "If you hadn't come to me when you did, your doubts and fears would have continued to grow, and eventually, you may have even entertained thoughts of killing Hitler!"(I am paraphrasing)

It was a typical vonnegutt move, leading them down the garden path, only to point out with a short and funny story that the whole concept of psychiatry is pretty much a sham.


Whenever I see one of his books lying somewhere, I can pick it up, begin reading at any point inside, and lose all track of time..Very few, if any, other authors I can say that about.

[Cardinal Queequeg]

"Listen, Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time".

I only hope that like Billy, so has Kurt.

As EarthRise said: "So it goes."

Hi Ho.

Cardinal Queequeg

[Duke]

I'm going to miss him. I think we've got similar senses of humor.


Duke

[jmb]

If you're like me, and you read a lot of his great novels when you were in High School, then pick up his last book "A Man Without A Country."

It's a short little book, with small pages and not many words per page, but as he talks about life as an old man in New York, growing up as a Humanist/Free Thinker, contemporary US politics, and American society, he shows he's still got the keen wit to be quotable and memorable in what he writes.

He also shares what would have been his last novel, to be called "If God Were Alive Today." He gave up on completing it (shame, it's a great title...), but in "A Man Without A Country" he treats us to a sample of the story and a synopsis of what would have happened in it.

I think this little book is a must-read for all of his true fans.

-jeremy

[Zaoldyeck]

I was so sad when I heard the news, he is/was my favorite author. But, he did at least live a full life of wonderful literary masterpieces.

[black bart]

I have only read 'Slaughterhouse 5' which is superb.

[Taidje Khan]

I have only read 'Slaughterhouse 5' which is superb.

If you're looking for a recommendation, I suggest Breakfast of Champions or Cat's Cradle. They are the most commonly read, and fairly typical of his style. Also, Palm Sunday is a collection of his essays and speeches in case you prefer a more segmented read.

If you're not looking for a recommendation, please disregard.