kurt vonnegut

Discussion in 'Fiction' started by prissbaby, May 16, 2008.

  1. prissbaby

    prissbaby creepy

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    has anyone read any kurt vonnegut? my sister is telling me that he's awesome, I don't know which book to read first by him? cat's cradle? opinions are appreciated :D thanks
     
  2. Mellow Yellow

    Mellow Yellow Electrical Banana

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    Slaughterhouse Five is a classic. His most recent work, Man Without a Country, is an excellent commentary about our sociopathic leaders.
     
  3. hayduke_lives5447

    hayduke_lives5447 Sancho

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    I have read pretty deeply in Vonnegut. I would say any book of his is as good a starting place as any.
     
  4. newo

    newo Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    I recommend Mother Night. Also, Deadeye Dick. Very deep novels about disturbed individuals.
     
  5. prissbaby

    prissbaby creepy

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    thank you thank you I will definitely read all of these asap :)
     
  6. Dave_techie

    Dave_techie I call Sheniangans

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    I really enjoyed timequake.

    would recommend it, and player piano as good places to start.
     
  7. LanSLIde

    LanSLIde Member

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    I'm just getting into him; I read "The Sirens of Titan" first, and I was definitely happy with it. It's size makes it ideal for testing out your taste for him, it's not too long, but isn't a short story either.
     
  8. themnax

    themnax Senior Member

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    i loved harmoniums and ice nine. and the members of my karas, that do keep turning back up in my life from time to time, though mostly haven't now for a while.

    =^^=
    .../\...
     
  9. NumberNineDream

    NumberNineDream Member

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    Slapstick is probably my favorite, though most other people don't care for it. The rest are all very good, as well. Cat's Cradle is a great one.
     
  10. man_bites_dog

    man_bites_dog Member

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    Some chronic bud and the complete collection of Vonnegut works is all need to be happy.

    My favorite is probably Mother Night or The Sirens of Titan. Also, Galapagos is very underrated novel of his that I would recommend.
     
  11. real_large

    real_large Member

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    If you want to start with a Vonnegut short story that will freak you out, read "Harrison Bergeron."
     
  12. pizzicatofive

    pizzicatofive Member

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    I like Breakfast of Champions. Harrison Bergeron is an awesome quick read, too.
     
  13. teecomb

    teecomb Member

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    ditto on Breakfast of Champions. That book made me fall madly in love with Kurt
     
  14. Bake Unshaken

    Bake Unshaken Member

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    ...but I'd have to say these are my Top 3:

    1. Cat's Cradle
    the other two are tied:
    2. Welcome to the Monkey House (I love the story "Miss Temptation" in that book)
    2. Jailbird

    Haven't read all of them, just about 75 percent.
     
  15. drew172

    drew172 Senior Member

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    I've only read Cat's Cradle and Player Piano, and they were both pretty awesome. I really like CC all the way through pretty much, but it took me awhile to appreciate PP. I'm writing a comparative essay on them and, for the first time, I'm excited to do an English essay. Vonnegut's themes and ideas are interesting, I find.
     
  16. knattyk420

    knattyk420 Member

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    I really like galapagos it was the first one i read after that i was hooked
     
  17. drew5147

    drew5147 Dingledodie

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    Slapstick is my favorite, also.



    Galapagos is awesome too.
     
  18. lovebird

    lovebird Member

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    I've only read slaughterhouse 5, Breakfast of Champions and welcome to the monkey house.
    I really really need to get more!
    I'm in love with his writing.
     
  19. NorCaliGreenFiend

    NorCaliGreenFiend Senior Member

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    Cats Cradle is equal in magnitude to the bible, to me at least. Much more concise and interesting to read, though. Bokononism is the best philosophy on life Ive ever encountered. Id start with CC, but you really cant go wrong with anything. Has anyone read God Bless You Dr Kevorkian? thats not a regular fiction, but its very deep, one of the closest times Ive ever come to crying from a book.
     
  20. dirtydog

    dirtydog Banned

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    "Galapagos" should have you rolling in the aisles. A virus renders the human race infertile, and everyone dies off except for a hundred or so people isolated on the Galapagos Islands. Vonnegut identifies the oversized human brain as being a major part of our problems. Natural selection comes into play as, during the following million years, surviving humans are selected for reproduction according to their ability to catch fish, and those with smaller brains are more streamlined under water, thus faster swimmers. Over time, the survivors evolve into something very much like seals, and their smaller brains keep them from destroying their environment.

    Vonnegut also builds some comic adventures concerning just who ends up on the Galapagos at the critical point, and why. There is even a guided nuclear missile which reaches a kind of orgasm at the moment of detonation. Recommended.
     

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