Did this ever happen to anybody else (Vonnegut)?

[Kazak]

I've cannot get enough of his stuff! I've been gobbling up every novel, every short story, every speech and essay I can get my hands on, with an appetite unlike that inspired by any other literary figure ever.

[leftofthedial]

1. yup, so it goes

happens to lots of us

[camero]

2. Vonnegut will do that to you.

I read most all of his books within a week. They are intense.

[Booberdawg]

3. Political? Tell me more .....

[Kazak]

7. Political, yes...

but not expressly. More of a novelist with an unusually sardonic whit. I'd be surprised if you weren't familiar with some of his works such as Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions, etc...

[Blade]

4. Nah...never happened to me.

I never cared for him. Glad you like him, though. :hi:

[JailBush]

5. I saw the movie Slaughterhouse Five many years ago, when I was too young

to understand what it was all about. Of course, it was obvious that it highlighted the horrors of war - with an intriguing streak of weirdness.

Not until a year or two ago did I learn about Kurt Vonnegut, and I was absolutely inspired.

I wrote about him on one of my websites, at http://www.geosymbols.org/911/5/index.php and http://www.geosymbols.org/911/6/index.php

[DemoTex]

6. Yeh. I'm on a Faulkner-fest.

Everything. Love it. If I live long enough, I'll read all of Vonnegut, too. And Welty. And Joyce. Etc.

[punpirate]

13. Did a whole semester of just Faulkner in college...

... lots of good ones. Just re-read _Light in August_, one of my favorites.

Read Welty's _The Ponder Heart_? Fun stuff.

Lots of good Vonnegut ones, as well--finished _Timequake_ a couple of months back.

A newer writer I'd greatly recommend is Richard Powers. Start with _Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance_.

Cheers.

[PackedForPerth]

8. ...

Slaughterhouse 5, Player Piano, Breakfast of Champions, Sirens of Titan and Harrison Bergeron... where's his Nobel?

[Journeyman]

18. To quote an author Vonnegut loves to quote. . .

Louis Ferdinand Celine, on the failure of the Nobel Committee to award him the literature prize:

"Every vaseline-ass in Europe's got one. . . where's mine?"

[thinkahead]

9. Po-te-weet?

:)

[PinkTiger]

10. Well....

I''m sorta into Jean Auel (Clan of the Cave Bear, et al) and for years I read everything by Stephen King.
But Vonnegut strikes me as being very masculine for my tastes. Updike does the same thing to me.

[nickgutierrez]

11. It IS happening to me

Since my Junior year in HS. So, if my experience is any indication, be prepared for about three more years of this :D.

(I have to admit, when I saw this topic, I thought of a certain event in "Breakfast of Champions", and "KV" was being chased by a dog. His body reacted in a certain "unprecidented" way, and I thought of that when I read this.)

[waywest]

14. Player Piano/ disposable workers

"Player Piano" is brought to mind whenever I hear about workers who must train their cheap replacements. Only the mechanized replacements are now just cheaper laborers from other countries. So it goes.

BTW, who likes Kilgore Trout?

[ourwinter]

12. The War on Odor

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/12/13_odor.html

and...

Sirens of Titan is my favorite, but
Gallapagos comes in a close second

Addictive voice - Kurt just sucks you in and you want to read everything the man has written. After you read 6 straight you get to be very very cynical about the world and then you need a breather...

Cheers,

Alexis

[populistmom]

15. I went through a Vonnegut thing when I was 14 and 15

...thanks to an extremely cool English teacher I had back in the olden days (is 1986 the olden days yet?). I haven't read anything for awhile though. His stuff is good though for sure.

[Journeyman]

16. I lecture on Slaughterhouse-Five. . .

two or three times per year. Friends of mine at three colleges invite me to talk to a variety of classes -- English, literature, history. One of the more remarkable novels of the 20th Century, it continues to grow in my mind no matter how many times I read it. I challenge students to define the "present" in the novel and face up to the challenges Vonnegut's thought presents for their own lives. I also convincingly argue that everything you need to know about World War 2 is within those few pages, including the answer to what should be done today on an emotional level about Hitler.

I'm glad you're enjoying Vonnegut's work, pengpong. I hope your interest in literature will continue to expand.

[The Magistrate]

17. The Earliest Are the Best, Mr. Pong

"God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" is perhaps the supreme, followed closely by "Mother Night" and "Cat's Cradle".

[Iverson]

19. yeah, almost 30 years ago

next stop: Kilgore Trout

;-)