When I was growing up, my dad had every single Vonnegut paperback published before the mid-nineties. I read them all when I was young, focused on the fact that I was so precocious for reading Vonnegut, but not understanding a damn thing. This collection of speeches — primarily given at graduations, but also one for an award — makes me want to reread them all again, now that I might actually appreciate his words. “My Uncle Alex, who is up in Heaven now, one of the things […]
The Early Days of the Planet Tralfamadore
The Sirens of Titan was one of the first Vonnegut novels I ever read, but this is the first time I’ve read it since. I had forgotten whole swaths of the plot, though the central moral has remained burned in my mind ever since: “I was the victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.” But other than that, I found the whole book quite a surprise. While I was reading, I was constantly reminded of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. This […]
In which I justify why I hadn’t read this yet
I nearly always struggle reviewing classics, or if not yet “classic,” the darlings of mid-century American literature. They’re beloved and enduring for a reason, and yet, a lot of them, being “of their time,” may not hold up well or for whatever reason fail to command the attention of the modern reader. A lot of people will take that as an excuse to belittle the modern reader. I will not. I will also struggle with reading someone like Vonnegut, whose work implies layers upon layers […]
Vonnegut’s little war book.
There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters.” So basically everyone I’ve ever talked to has read this book before me, and I’m kinda pissed off about that. Why didn’t y’all tell me I needed to read this? I know most people had to […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5