Kurt Vonnegut - A Man Without a Country

[captainballs]

I must confess that when my dad handed me this book for Christmas, I was a little let down. During high school I read most of Vonnegut's books. Unfortunately, I started with "Sirens of Titan." Every other book after that was a hopeless attempt to chase the high that "Sirens" provided me with. It was such a wonderful, adventurous, and rewarding book. His other books were great, too, but I had to quit reading his stuff because in the end, all of his books (except Sirens of Titan) could probably be compressed into one book and no one would notice. It's just over and over and over again with the same old SHIT. He's still great, though.

Anyways, I was really excited to start a new book. That excitement ended less than two hours later... WHEN I FINISHED THE WHOLE THING! It should be noted that I am a slow reader who likes to read things over and over again before turning the page. I was wondering when the introduction was going to end (because he had me hooked and hungry for more) when I looked down and I was on page 82. I then realized, slightly disappointed, that A Man Without a Country is yet another shameless venting device for Kurt Vonnegut.

Last paragraph I promise: I do not mean to say that this book is bad or even disappointing. There are many things I read in this book that I thought were very clever, and there are many more things in this book that will stick in my mind for years to come. Even as the book sits on my lap right now, it almost gives me a warm feeling. So give it a try - you haven't got much to lose. It's amazingly written, which I think contributes to the speed with which it can be read.

 

[ice-9]

Hey thanks for the suggestion, I really do have to go out and pick up more of his stuff to read. I like his cynicism and the fact that his books are fairly light reading but with a thin layer of complexity about them.

 

[paradoxcycle]

Kurt Vonnegut is easily one of my favorite authors. I believe he may be the most underrated living American novelist, due mainly to the fact that he gets pigeon-holed as sci-fi. Yes, he has done things like "Sirens of Titan" and "Cat's Cradle" which explore fantastical scientific theories, but if a novel is to get you thinking, doesn't it need to make you ask yourself: "Oh yeah, what if...?" Plus his prose is full of self-depreciating black humor. King of the pertinent aside.
Some of my favorites:

1) "Sirens of Titan"- An epic work, gets me choked up every time I read it.

2) I've always admired "God Bless You, Mrs. Rosewater" for it's brilliant portrayal of a loveable character that the world forgot. Vonnegut's style is calm, descriptive and "breezy". I realize he only makes it look "easy" and "breezy." To describe the scenes in an informal manner, perhaps, takes more writing talent than the formal approach.

3) I love the twist in "Slaughterhouse Five". It's so amazing because throughout the entire novel Vonnegut builds up this complex existential clockwork universe, BUT then he just blows it all away, and with just one simple revelation creates something infinitely more bleak.

It's utterly impressive to read his material in the present world climate and see how relevant his ideas from decades ago (in some cases nearly half of a century ago) are today.